To Have and To Hold
by LadyPhenyx
Summary: The Guardian Oath was more than a promise to protect children. It was a marriage oath. The marriage may have been strained lately, with none the wiser for it, but the past weekend and a new husband were just the thing to bring all the problems to light. Too bad said 'new husband' has no idea he just got married.
1. Chapter 1

Hoo...I've been promising this one for awhile now. Usually I wouldn't start posting it just yet as it isn't finished, but it's Favorite Ships Week, and...I've been teasing long enough. But since it's not finished yet, I can still be influenced on some things. I hope that you find this was worth the wait.

* * *

Jack perched on the back of the sleigh, watching as his pond faded into the distance. North had decided to fly far enough away that the children wouldn't see him open a portal before he used the snowglobes, rather than give more of them ideas and to keep them somewhat secret.

Besides, the kids expected them to fly off in the sleigh when it showed up. North may not have interacted with the kids in a long time, but Jack had already learned the famous spirit had a definite flare for the dramatic.

He glanced back over his shoulder and gave a soft smile, knowing they couldn't see him, as he watched Bunny nuzzling at the side of Sandy's head. Tooth fluttered from her perch on the side of the sleigh to drape an arm around Sandy and snuggle close, neither Guardian likely to let the smallest of them out of their sight – or arm's reach – for some time.

Jack couldn't blame them – if there was room, he'd like to be down there with them. For the moment, though, he kept himself to the top riser of the sleigh. He may have taken the oath, but it had been something of an impulse decision, and he still wasn't sure he could really call himself one of them. Not yet, at least. Maybe in time, he'd really be a Guardian, but for now, despite the oath and the knowledge of why he was chosen, the position still felt tenuous.

"So, where to?" North asked from the front of the sleigh. "The Pole?"

"Zzzzzz?!" Sandy 'said', the letters appearing above his head almost immediately as he beamed.

Bunny chuckled. "You said it, Sandy. I'm bleeding exhausted."

"I want some rest too, but...my girls," Tooth said, wings fluttering, "and the teeth. I can feel my girls again, and they're with the teeth and used them to get the kids believing again, but...they can't get them all home, not in their boxes. I..."

"Cannot rest until all are safe and home, yes? Where do you think Pitch left them?" North said over his shoulder.

Baby Tooth chirped encouragingly from her perch in Jack's hood and he shifted uneasily, unable to keep his silence about finding the baby teeth when Tooth was so worried about them, but unsure how they would take his knowledge.

"I saw them," he said quietly, shrinking a little into his hood involuntarily as eyes shifted to him before making himself straighten up, though he didn't lower the hood he'd unconsciously pulled up.

"When was that, Frostbite?" Bunny asked, ears tilting towards Jack, who shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to answer while still perking up at the nickname. He wasn't sure he liked it – frostbite was one of the few things he disliked about his main season – but still.

"Well...I'm not sure how to get to them now, the entrance closed," he said instead, avoiding the question. "But I saw them, earlier. Maybe Baby Tooth can lead us there."

Sandy twisted until he could face Jack, looking between him and the other Guardians with concern written plainly across his face.

"...Jack...was this...before we saw you this morning?" Tooth said hesitantly. "When you saw my fairies? In...in Pitch's lair?" she guessed, piecing together a few things from that morning and not quite sure what to make of the shape it was forming.

Jack ducked his head, unwilling to look at her, fiddling with his hood.

"Why were you down there?" Bunny asked, Jack's silence telling them it had been in Pitch's lair, wordless confirmation that yes, he had been with Pitch while they'd been attacked by Nightmares.

The question lacked the bite it would have had just that morning.

True, he didn't have the trust in Jack yet that he had in the other Guardians, but...Jack took the oath. He came back. They threw him out, made him feel unwanted, left him alone for three hundred years, near to broke his heart, accused him of treason, not without cause maybe but still – and yet, he came back. There had to be a reason for him to be with Pitch when they needed him. There had to be.

Uncomfortable silence ruled over the sleigh until Sandy got impatient, giving Bunny a hard poke in the side. When Bunny grunted he pointed between the Pooka and Jack demandingly.

There were no words or symbols needed to interpret that look. Sandy wanted answers, and he wanted whatever was hanging over this sleigh cleared up _now_ , thank you very much.

Bunny sighed, exchanging uncomfortable glances with Tooth. North was only left out of Sandy's glare by virtue of driving the sleigh, and he was paying more attention to that particular task than was really necessary in open sky.

Shifting his position in the sleigh, ears flattening against his neck and wincing uncomfortably at each move of the unwieldy vehicle, Bunny turned until he could look back at Jack properly. He sighed again, searching for the words to say. Apologizing was never easy, whether he was acting as a proper, logic-driven Pooka or himself, the emotional Bunnymund he had suppressed for so long.

Actually, given a choice, he would rather show he was sorry, follow them around and prove it than use the words. Words weren't always easy, and they had power, but for an apology, Bunny would rather prove it with actions. It was hard enough to admit to himself when he was wrong. Add in Pooka culture versus human wants and, well, things used to be a lot more... _interesting_ until he got more used to humans and their need for verbal reassurance.

There was still a little voice that tried to claim Jack had betrayed them that morning and didn't deserve any kind of apology, that he should just tell them without coaxing, but it wasn't logical, just hurt talking and he knew it.

Mostly because, despite that little voice, now that he had time to think about it, now that he wasn't hurt and scared (and curse these emotions they made everything so much more difficult at times), it was hard to reconcile the Jack who'd helped them collect teeth, thrown himself into Easter preparations with so much joy and enthusiasm, with a traitor.

...Tooth was better at this, why wasn't Sandy poking her to get her to do this?

"Look, mate, I think we all jumped to conclusions this morning," Bunny said finally, scratching at an ear uncomfortably and setting his foot back down quickly as the sleigh swayed. "That wasn't right. Pretty poor way to start things off, and I ain't given ya a fair crack 'o the whip before that. We shoulda let you tell us what happened, an' we didn't. Mind tellin' us what happened after ya took the little sheila home now, since we didn't let ya before?"

Sandy tugged at Bunny's fur, drawing their attention. "?" he said, foot tapping as he demanded answers.

"Little sheila..."

"Sophie," Jack injected, grinning. Bunny rolled his eyes. " _Sophie_ ," he amended, "got her hands on one o' North's globes and got inta the Warren. Frostbite offered to take her home after she fell asleep, and we didn't see 'im again until after the Nightmares destroyed all the googies and Easter was ruined, an' we...kinda jumped ta conclusions about where he'd been, an' with the little fairy missin' an' him havin' his tooth box we jumped ta conclusions about where she went to. So what really happened?" he asked, turning back to Jack, who shrunk away from his gaze.

A soft spot of warmth on his leg drew Jack's gaze to Sandy's understanding eyes as the dreamweaver laid a hand on his leg, urging him to speak. He took a deep breath, fiddling with his staff as Baby Tooth chirped encouragingly.

"Well...um..." he took a hard swallow and deep breath, hands tightening on the familiar wood. "I took Sophie home, like I said I would, but when we left I...I heard someone calling me. Baby Tooth couldn't hear it, but I had to answer. It...it was like a compulsion, or something. I knew that voice, and I...I had to answer when it called me."

He shifted, refusing to look up at the others yet. "I...ended up in Pitch's lair. I could have sworn I was only down there for a few minutes, but when I got out...it was morning. I'm sorry," he blurted, finally meeting Bunny's eyes, a wild, desperate look to them that cut to the Pooka's heart. "I should have been there, and..."

Bunny cut him off before Jack could make himself feel worse, this sudden change from the usually confident spirit almost devastating to watch, suddenly desperate to make it stop.

"If we'd been thinkin' clearly this mornin' we'd 'a known that even your power wouldn'ta made that much of a difference, an' that you'd never do something ta hurt Baby Tooth or the kids. We were just scared, after all'a that, an' losin' hope, but ya wouldn't have come back if you'd been workin' with Pitch." He took a deep breath as he finished, forcing his ears to stop twitching. If there was one thing Bunny hated, it was laying everything out like this, but sometimes it had to be done.

"I think...he wanted you to think that. That I was helping him. But it's still my fault," Jack said the last part quietly, almost too quietly for any of them to hear – but not quite quiet enough. "I should have been there. I shouldn't have _listened_ to him. He's _wrong._ "

There were worried glances between Pooka, Sandman, and Tooth Fairy. Jack always acted so confident...but now...how much of that assurance, that cockiness and defiance was a mask made automatic by years of holding it on?

"How do you know Pitch wanted us to think that?" Tooth asked, reaching for Jack, pausing and pulling back at his unconscious flinch. "What did he do while you were down there?"

Jack tried to wave it off as Sandy indicated for him to wait for a moment. He floated up to North, pointing to a spot on the globe. There was a brief flurry of conversation between them, mostly consisting of "Really?" and its like from North before Sandy nodded firmly, pointing again with a sharp stab of his finger.

North shrugged and cracked the reins, urging the reindeer onward as Sandy returned to his previous spot, laying his hand back on Jack's knee.

"Look, it's not a big deal," Jack protested. Sandy blew sand out his ears and Bunny bit back a growl. They were going to be joined for a long time, if he yelled at Jack for every little thing now it would never work out. Being judgmental had already almost lost him to them, and almost lost them all their believers in the bargain.

Sandy patted Bunny's arm, a gentle reminder to be patient in those ageless eyes, already over his own frustration. Bunny took a deep breath, nose wrinkling. He'd been wrong with every other judgment he'd made about Jack, he had to let go of those rigid definitions or it was all going to fall apart spectacularly. Sometimes he almost missed the days before he let himself be... _emotional_.

"Whether you think it's a big deal or not, we want to hear it, Frostbite," Bunny said instead, wishing they could have this conversation on the nice, solid ground as the sleigh rocked again. "Pitch's tried things before, we know what he's capable of."

Jack slung his staff over his shoulder, grin the others were rapidly becoming aware was the fake smile plastered over his face. "Jack, don't," Tooth said before he could redirect them. "Please just tell us. What happened in Pitch's lair? What did he do? Wrong about what?"

Jack shifted on the back of the sleigh, suddenly tempted to drop off the back and fly off rather than continue this conversation. But that would mean throwing away the oath, the friendship he was being offered. So despite that overwhelming temptation, he took a deep breath, taking strength from Baby Tooth's encouraging little chirps and the soft pressure of her head rubbing lovingly against his cheek. They were listening this time...maybe they'd listen to all of it?

"It's really not that big of a deal," he said, swallowing past the knot in his throat. "Just kept following me in the shadows and popping out at me and saying stuff."

North scowled, directing the reindeer toward an open spot on the ground to land as images of Pitch testing Katherine rushed his mind. "What type of 'stuff'?" he called over his shoulder.

"Well...you know...stuff like how you guys'll never accept me, how I'll just disappoint you and how I always make a mess of everything."

Three of the sleigh's occupants winced. "An' then we went and confirmed that," Bunny said wretchedly, saying aloud what they were thinking.

Jack shrugged, fiddling with his staff some more. "If I'd been there..."

"Would have ended same way," North said as the sleigh slid to a stop, repeating Bunny's earlier words. "Too many tunnels, too many nightmares. Could never have covered them all, even with your help. Easter would still have been destroyed. Rest of story will have to wait. Sandy, we are here."

"Wherever 'here' is," Bunny muttered. Sandy beamed and began sending up symbols.

*Eiffel tower, down arrow, skull and crossbones, Pitch profile*

The sleigh was silent as the other Guardians, new and old, puzzled over Sandy's symbols.

"Let's see...Paris...down...skull...The catacombs?" Jack guessed. Sandy beamed, and Jack added, "You think we can get into Pitch's lair through the Paris catacombs?"

A thumbs up greeted his guess, and Jack gave a soft "Yes!" and a fist pump. "Point for me!"

There were a few confused blinks at that while Sandy's sand swirled into a scorecard with a giant one on it and he floated up to give Jack a high five. The others decided silently to just go with the flow rather than ask questions, though they hid soft grins from the celebrating pair.

When was the last time they played with Sandy like that, anyway? Had it really been so long that they couldn't remember?

They piled out of the sleigh and headed into the city streets, North having parked in a back alley that few children saw. The reindeer could guard the sleigh from most things that would dare come near it, though there were few willing to mess with the Guardians so openly as to mess with something as obviously theirs as the sleigh.

There was an opening into the catacombs at the end of the street, behind a high wall and covered with iron bars. Ignoring the many notices warning people to stay away, North hauled the heavy top off the entrance with little more than a grunt, and they all gathered around to look down into the pitch black, echoing darkness of the catacombs, the opening suddenly looking more like a gaping mouth than a simple hole.

"Are you sure about this, Sandy?" Tooth asked, wings fluttering double time. "No one's ever been able to map out the catacombs, even we aren't immune to getting lost down there. It's supposed to be horribly easy to lose your way."

"No worries, Toothie," Bunny said quickly, smirking. "Pitch's too weak right now to come after us, and if we get lost I can just open up a tunnel to get us out. We'll already be underground, so it won't be a problem."

"Oh. Okay," she agreed. Still, none of them moved to go down, staring down into the tunnel silently. Finally Jack nudged Bunny.

"Dare you to go first."

Bunny groaned and gave Jack a little shove back. "Ugh, I don't...fine. Fine, or we're gonna stand here all night."

With a last look at the streets of Paris and a deep breath, Bunny jumped down into the dark tunnel, bypassing the ladder, the others floating (or climbing, in North's case) after him.


	2. Chapter 2

The catacombs were dark, damp, and cold. This section was closed to the public – not that much of the catacombs was actually open for exploration, to be fair – and water seeped down the walls in rivulets, slowly rising as they went deeper down until it covered the floor. The only light came from Sandy's streams of dreamsand, hovering over their heads to let them see, and the silence was deafening and ominous, broken only by the buzzing of Tooth's wings and the splashing of their feet through the water pooled on the floor.

That, and Bunny's soft grumbling about wet fur and the misery thereof. Jack was walking on a thin skiff of ice on top of the water, but he kept his mouth shut about the particular fun that was bare feet and ice. It wasn't like it bothered him much anyway.

Jack clutched his staff tight and kept close to the other Guardians. Remembering what he had said about his earlier experience in Pitch's lair – and assuming, from the little of Jack they had managed to learn over this hectic weekend, that he was severely downplaying what had happened – the other Guardians didn't comment on his sudden jumpiness.

If they all were thinking of Katherine, none of them were going to say so. Still, there was no words needed between them before they found themselves taking protective positions around their newest, keeping it subtle so Jack was in the center of their formation without even realizing it.

With Sandy on point, North and Tooth watching the sides, and Bunny covering the rear, they moved quickly through the tunnels, faster than a human would dare. Sandy's sand explored the tunnels around them, searching for the entrances invisible to human eyes, probing spots eyes couldn't see and senses couldn't reach, keeping them on track and away from danger.

Sandy perked up, an exclamation point hanging over his head, brighter than neon in the tunnel as he pointed to an entrance to Pitch's lair, only visible as a darker patch of blackness in the dark shadows and invisible to human senses. They slid into the dark entrance silently, all senses on alert and keeping pressed close together.

The tooth boxes were still piled carelessly into huge piles on the floor, and Tooth stiffened at the disregard to her life's work. Her fairies rushed her, chirping excitedly and clustering around their mother as soon as they spotted her.

She was obviously furious over the treatment of the tooth boxes, her tail feathers ruffling and flaring even as she attempted to comfort her girls, the tiny fairies cooing and snuggling against her.

If the other Guardians had any lingering doubts about Jack betraying them for his tooth box and abandoning or trading Baby Tooth for it, they were dispelled in the face of the fairies' joy as fairies peeled off from the group around Tooth, crowding around Jack and Baby Tooth, chirping worriedly at both of them.

Quite a few of the little fairies, obviously worn out from their ordeal, actually perched on Jack, hiding in his hood or clustering on his shoulders, a few extra tired fairies tucking themselves into his hoodie pocket. His hair, though, was claimed by Baby Tooth, who nestled down in it until she was barely visible like it was her own personal soft, cool little nest.

They'd never seen the baby teeth perch on anyone but a Guardian, and sidelong glances and uncomfortable shifting said clear as a shout how each of them remembered only now that it had been ages since any little fairy had tried to perch on one of them.

A few hesitantly hovered over the other Guardians, and soothed something deep inside when they gingerly settled on shoulders, five or six to a Guardian.

Jack laughed as the baby teeth settled down, relaxing as their squirming and cuddling as they made themselves comfortable tickled him, distracting him from the surroundings until he wasn't jumping at each little noise, although the other Guardians forced themselves to stay alert instead of just enjoying the picture Jack and the baby teeth made.

Even if Pitch was probably too tired to do more than watch them sulkily from the shadows, they didn't want to spend any more time here than they had to.

Bunny eyed the piles of golden boxes, an ear flickering as he sized them up. "Got any suggestions for how we get these all home, Toothie?"

She fluttered over the largest pile, beginning to dart between them frantically. "I...I really don't know...there's just so many..."

Sandy tugged on Jack's sleeve, images flashing quickly by. Jack's eyes lit up and he rose slowly into the air so as not to disturb the Baby Teeth still perched all over him until he floated beside Tooth.

"Would the cold hurt them? The boxes?" he asked her as soon as he could get her attention. "Like, snow or ice?"

"Well, no," she answered, obviously not sure where Jack was going with this. "It shouldn't. They're protected against just about everything we could think of, including cold and water."

"Sandy has an idea," he answered shortly. Down below, North was opening portals, calling elves and yeti through and opening another to Punjam Hy Loo as the yeti immediately started to collect up the tooth boxes and cart them through to Tooth's palace without needing told what to do – not when it was so obvious.

Bunny scouted the perimeter of the area, making sure Pitch didn't try anything. Unlikely, in his present defeated state, but there was no sense in taking chances when they'd come so close to losing everything once today already.

Jack, with a grin at Sandy, started making it snow over the tooth boxes, shoving them together into huge snowballs as soon as there was enough. With a tip of his sand hardhat, Sandy spun his cloud into a bulldozer, pushing the balls of snow and tooth boxes through the portal alongside the yeti line.

The tooth collecting started going much faster at that point, with so many tooth boxes caught up and moved in each giant ball. The baby teeth scoured the lair floor, making sure none of the teeth had fallen out of the boxes or were left behind as the piles were cleared.

Baby Tooth, flitting carefully back to settle in Jack's hair, whistled out the all clear and her sisters began zipping through the portal, already starting to pair off and drag the tooth boxes back to where they belonged.

With a last glace around the cold, dark lair, the Guardians and yeti followed.

* * *

The baby teeth were a blur as they returned the tooth boxes to their proper places, restored by their short rest and the belief of the children, enthused and eager to get everything back the way it should be.

Jack stood in the center of Punjam Hy Loo, watching them swirl around in blurs of shimmering color with awe and wonder painted over his face.

The other Guardians came up behind him quietly, and he was watching the Baby Teeth so intently he didn't notice them standing there until Tooth laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned to face her, a grin of pure joy lighting up his face, bringing answering smiles from them. Tooth squeezed his shoulder, fluttering closer, smile faltering. "Jack...we're sorry about this morning. We were wrong to turn you away without listening."

Jack shook his head, still grinning, though it dimmed a few degrees. "I...it hurt, but I...I understand, really. I just...really don't want to talk about it any more right now, okay?"

"Okay, Jack," she said after a brief moment. "But we have to...eventually. About more than just today. There's a lot we have to talk about."

He fiddled with his staff, hands tracing the cracks in the wood and obviously uncomfortable, but nodded. Moving slowly, Tooth slid her arms around him, this time holding the hug, giving him time to return it. It took him a few seconds to do so, and it was obvious he was a bit unsure and uneasy with the contact even as he was hungry for it.

When she moved away, North moved in to take her place, sweeping Jack up in a huge bear hug, muttering apologies for doubting him and receiving apologies in return, though Jack's were gasped out against North's trademark rib cracker of a hug.

Sandy swooped in as soon as North let Jack go and Jack hugged him eagerly, still relieved over his return from the dead. If he cried, just a little, no one said a word.

Bunny hung back, moving forward once Sandy had backed off, offering a hug with an awkward but heartfelt smile, but not forcing the hug on Jack. Jack hesitated for a moment before easing into Bunny's open arms. Their hug was a little awkward, since they had only properly started talking and forming trust early that morning, but there was a silent world of promises and apologies in it.

"Jackie?" Bunny said quietly, stroking a gentle paw over Jack's hair. "Pitch was wrong. We do accept you. You're one of us now. Ya should'a been sooner, if we'd been payin' attention, but we're here now."

Jack's smile was blinding as he pulled back. "Yeah, I am. I just...I'm so happy we're all friends now!"

He didn't notice the other Guardians freezing or the winces and expressions of shock that passed over their faces, distracted as Baby Tooth zoomed in and chirped for attention, showing off for him as he turned away to coo over her healed wing, which she'd been favoring until then. By the time he turned back they had hidden the shock, managing to smile back at him without it seeming too awkward.

"I'd really like to stay, but I kinda took some hard hits today. I need to go find a snowbank or something and get some rest," Jack said apologetically, shifting his weight and tossing his staff across his shoulders, and three of the four winced. Sandy looked confused and worried, having not seen Jack take most of those hits today.

"There is infirmary at Pole," North said immediately, taking an involuntary step forward as he remembered that impact Jack had taken with the dumpster, cursing himself for forgetting. Jack was walking and acting unharmed, but...that had to have hurt.

"It's okay, big guy, I think I just need to take a nap in a snowbank for awhile and I'll be fine. The cold'll help. Though..." he paused, apparently thinking of something. "It's just...usually I'd go down to Antarctica, since there aren't that many really cold places right now, but...I'd kinda like to avoid that for awhile. One of those tell you later things," he said to the immediate questions that he saw in their eyes. "Do ya mind if I bunk down outside the Pole?"

"Of course not!" North said immediately. "Yeti will let you in when you wake up, come talk to me, yes? We have much to talk about."

"Sounds great. I'll see you all later, then, right?" They nodded and he grinned again, leaping onto the wind and speeding off toward the Pole.

* * *

The original four Guardians were silent as they watched Jack disappear into the distance, not even waiting for North to open a portal for him.

Then all four began babbling at once, talking over each other (or making faster and faster sand symbols, in Sandy's case), growing louder and louder until a pack of baby teeth came out of nowhere to swirl around them, poking and cheeping.

They dispersed as quickly as they'd descended, leaving the four Guardians silently staring at each other again, more ruffled then they'd been before.

Bunny scratched an ear with a foot, giving a grunt and a sigh. "All right mates," he said before the others could start babbling again. "I'd say Jackie doesn't really realize what he signed up for."

Tooth zipped around the receiving area in agitation, hands fluttering around her. "But how...everyone _knows_ what being a Guardian means!"

The group was silent, not sure what to say to that. Everyone _had_ known what being a Guardian meant, but...

*lightbulb!*

All eyes turned to Sandy as he tossed up symbols, the tooth, present, egg, and swirl of dreamsand he used to represent them, keeping them close together and then drifting apart slowly, looking at the others sadly as he drifted back to the ground.

"Well...maybe we did drift apart a bit..." Tooth said, fluttering. "But...we're all so busy..."

"It's just like with the sprogs," Bunny said, ears pricking up in realization before they flattened to his back. "We were so busy doing our jobs, we didn't take care of...well..."

"Of what's really important," Tooth finished for him, reaching to touch him and hesitating. And didn't that say it all, she thought when she hesitated. Married for so many years, and yet they hesitated to touch. "And now I don't think Jack has a clue what we were really asking him to do, besides protect the children."

"Sandy is right," North declared. "We have not been good examples of Guardianship. And Jack...he has been alone a long time, yes? So he has given up on things like romance and friendship until now. Must think we do not have marriage anymore, just team."

Bunny snorted. "Good examples. Right. So what now? Frostbite's gonna toss a blizzard if we just up an' tell him he married all o' us by takin' the oath."

"What if he doesn't want us?" Tooth gasped, shock bringing her to a standstill. "He...he'll be so angry, we never even told him about all this and now...oh! We never even asked if he wanted us! We just assumed!"

North paced as he thought while Bunny sank down onto his haunches, ears falling down his back. It was true, he realized – they'd never outright asked Jack if he wanted to be part of the whole Guardian experience or if he even knew what it was, just _assumed_ he knew what that was. Never asked if he wanted to be a Guardian at all, just assumed he would, because if Manny said he was one of them then he was, without checking to see what Jack wanted first.

He'd never felt so _bloody stupid_ in his entire life. Why did they listen to Manny anymore anyway?

"HA! Idea! Is so simple!" North exclaimed, spinning back to face the others, coat whirling about him.

Bunny was just grateful he didn't use the swords this time to make his point.

Sandy smiled brightly and innocently while sending up images that made several of the Baby Teeth faint even as the rest tried to cover each others' eyes while simultaneously trying to peek at Sandy's images.

Tooth gasped, trying to bite back giggles. Bunny was chuckling even as he looked away, not bothering to hide it. "Bit early for that sort 'a thing, mate. Don't think Jackie's ready for that."

"Ha, is good idea Sandy, but no. We must woo Jack!" North exclaimed.

"North, what?" Tooth asked, fluttering up closer, as the other two thought it over. "It's already been done, we can't change that, so how's that going to help?"

"Think it over, Toothie," Bunny said soothingly, getting up to rest a paw on her shoulder, only hesitating a moment. "North's right fer once. We court 'im proper, like we should'a done from the beginning. Show we want 'im here enough ta do it right, that we respect 'im enough to go through the whole fuss, then when we do tell 'im about the oath, it'll be like a present, right? Then we can let 'im choose if he wants it or not, like we should'a in th' first place."

"Exactly! Is good idea, no?"

"Is good idea, yes," Bunny said with just a hint of mockery to his voice, "but while we neet ta court _Jack_ proper – an' no argument there, since we might not 'a known it before, but we do want 'im here, so we just gotta show 'im – how do we bring someone new in when we've fallen apart?"

Tooth nodded firmly. "We can't court him properly yet, until everything's taken care of, but that doesn't mean we can't let him know we're interested," she agreed. "So...how do we fix us?"

North blinked at the pair, honestly confused. "What do you mean, fix us? What is wrong with us? Drifted apart yes, but already back together."

Sandy facepalmed even as Bunny huffed. Hadn't he already said what was wrong? "It's just like with the sprogs, mate." He sighed, running a paw over an ear. "Look, I'm knackered. I ain't gonna make sense right now."

*zzzs sun moon sun north pole question mark*

"That's a good idea, Sandy," Bunny agreed. "The Warren ain't ready for company yet." He shivered a little, remembering the desecration of his home, the invasion of his tunnels and their sanctuary. He was gaining strength again, but still...

"I'm not sure I can leave my girls alone so soon..." Tooth said uncertainly. Baby Tooth and several of her sisters zipped up to hover in front of their mother, chittering rapidly. Tooth may have been the only one able to understand them clearly when they spoke so fast, but it was still fairly obvious from all the gesturing they were offering to take charge while she was talking with the other Guardians. "Well...if you girls are sure..."

Bunny patted her shoulder. His Warren wasn't the only home to be invaded this weekend, no wonder Tooth wasn't sure about leaving the girls alone again so soon. And she'd never actually left them to collect the teeth without her directing them for long...

"If all think we need to talk and girls are sure they can handle it, then give them chance, yes? They will know where to find you if they need help. I see you all tomorrow," North agreed, yawning. "Need to fetch sleigh and head back to Pole."

With faint goodbyes the four went their separate ways, each with heads full of buzzing, uncomfortable thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Bunny stumbled into the Warren on all fours, too tired for his usual grace or to even try at the dignity of two feet. He avoided looking at the decimated eggs and their shells littering the tunnels, too exhausted as much emotionally as physically to clean them up just yet.

...maybe he'd use the shells to make a mural for the weekend, to celebrate gaining a new Guardian. He'd done some kind of art project for each of the others, may as well make something joyful out of this pain, pull victory from defeat. It seemed fitting, somehow, that the thing that had almost driven Jack away from them be used to show that he was one of them.

Thinking of the others had his half–asleep feet moving without realizing just where he was going until he was there, looking over the gardens he'd made for their marriage, each section abloom with flowers he'd chosen to symbolize each of them individually. He sat back on his haunches to look over the gentle valley and the flowers blooming there, just taking in the sight and scent of the flowers.

...how long had it been since he'd tended these gardens, he suddenly wondered. He'd barely even visited them over the last few hundred years, trusting the magic of the Warren to keep them safe and tended for him while he focused on his job, the eggs and chocolate. He hadn't even shown it to the others, had barely let them into the Warren until this Easter, he realized with a start.

Looking over the gardens, he suddenly came to full alertness, ears pricking forward as he realized something else.

When he made a garden, he usually went all out, but these...each Guardian was separate, their section of the garden strictly kept away from the other five. It had been a style choice before, to show how each was separately important to him, but now...it just felt wrong. And to make matters worse...the realization hit him with all the force of one of Pitch's nightmares that the flowers he'd chosen for each were only here, in this garden, and the sections were all the same shape and general design.

Nothing to personalize them for each Guardian beyond flower choice, and even then they were mostly by color rather than meaning, almost like he'd just been going through the motions for a Marriage Garden without the spirit behind it, despite how excited and heady those first decades had been, nothing to keep them in his thoughts when he was in the rest of the Warren, nothing connecting them all together.

It was a Marriage Garden in form only by now, not in spirit or symbol.

Well, he could start doing something about each of those, at least. He bounded away, fetching sketch paper from the burrow and dragging it out into the light, pen flying across the paper as he designed, exhaustion forgotten in the surge of inspiration.

Swirls for Sandy, to go through the Warren proper and lead back to this garden, plus around and through the Marriage Gardens...he'd need more red and white, for North, maybe some oaks and evergreens to shade the other gardens, sturdy and strong...purples and golds for Tooth, and something sweet but strong...Jack, what kind of flowers for a winter spir...snowdrops! Snowdrops, for hope and the meeting of spring and winter! And mints, fresh and clean and energizing, just like Jack!

He was still designing when the weekend caught up with him and he slid off to sleep, curled protectively around the sketchpad, ears twitching as flowers and designs danced through his dreams.

Tooth was directing the fairies as soon as the others had disappeared, not quite ready to rest, too full of nervous energy and knowing that she would be unable to rest even if she tried. After an hour or two, the newly christened Baby Tooth – and did Jack know what he'd done, accidentally, by naming her? Even if it was in passing, it had stuck and she already was different from her sisters, more assertive if nothing else – fussed at her, gathering a group of her sisters to join in fussing at Tooth until she agreed to go rest.

She wasn't sure she liked the idea, since her rests had always been few and far between, hardly ever leaving the baby teeth without guidance, but they kept insisting they let her try, give them practice for tomorrow, until she reluctantly headed toward her seldom used bedroom.

She was still too jittery for sleep, so she took a little detour, down the hall to the room she kept mementos and relics in. Smiling gently, she ran her fingers over the jewelry box that had belonged to her mother, the saber her father had owned, the ruby box that had been the gift of both of them to her that still held her own baby teeth. North's tooth box was kept here, alongside Katherine's, protected and safe in the heart of her palace.

The other Guardians were too alien to have lost baby teeth for her to keep safe, had grown up too far away for her to have even had a chance to collect them if they had lost them. She was fairly sure Jack still had his tooth box, but she couldn't find it in her to be angry at him for not returning it to her yet for safekeeping. When he did, she'd place it here, with the others.

She'd have to ask about it, sooner or later, if only to help him fully access the memories inside and be sure he'd seen them all properly. She was assuming he'd watched some of them, at least, though she couldn't be sure. But she wanted him to – he'd deserve it even if he'd turned them down flat. And he'd been so eager, so desperate to know...

The thought made her sigh. Of course she'd jumped to conclusions that morning, when they'd seen Jack standing there with no Baby Tooth and a tooth box, knowing how much he wanted it, and while Jack seemed to understand why she had, she still felt guilty. Well, they had a very long time to work that through, when all was said and done.

She paused to look up at the mural in this room, one that had flaked thanks to the children's fading belief but hadn't deteriorated as badly as the one by her pond. Each Guardian smiled down at her from it, separate yet united. Blinking, she floated up to touch her hand to the spot she'd almost unconsciously left open – right in the middle, and just the right size for Jack, as though they'd always been waiting for him to compete them.

She'd have to ask Bunny if he'd come and fix up the murals in her palace, and ask him to pay special attention to this one. If he could spare the time...

The thought brought her back down to the ground, clutching hands above her suddenly aching heart. When had it turned into _if_ Bunny could come by, _if_ she – or he – could think of a reason to visit? When had they just...stopped? Their jobs were important, but when had they become more important than something as simple as each other?

She sank to her knees with a little sob. How were they going to fix all of this? They hadn't even realized they were broken until today, when it was practically shoved into their faces! There had to be something...with a deep breath, she rose back to her feet. Her girls were right – she was too tired to think straight about this right now, if she was this emotional about it already. It was time for her to get some rest, and she could try thinking this through when she met the others at the Pole.

Sandy formed his cloud and set off into the sky, sending out dreams to the children as he went. It was second nature by now, and he napped often enough that he didn't need rest now, despite everything that had happened today. He'd even napped while working before, though he wasn't going to for awhile, not when the children had already been plagued by nightmares while he was gone.

Besides, each time he closed his eyes right now, he could feel the nightmare sand creeping over his body, making him lose cohesion and dissolve into a drift of sand. It would pass, as all things did, but for now he'd rather stay awake.

At the moment, it felt as if nothing had happened, despite the hectic activity of the past few days, settling back into the same as it had never been. He couldn't say he was happy about that. He'd been used to being alone, enough that when the four of them had begun drifting apart he'd simply slept more and never even noticed how rare it was to see the others now without some kind of emergency.

He wondered, as he sent out more dream sand, if things were really going to change. The little time he'd had with Jack told him Jack needed the attention, but if he was reading Jack right...Jack was going to blame himself if they drifted apart, think he wasn't good enough or just retreat into himself until he couldn't be the Guardian of Fun _or_ Joy anymore...since it was impossible to guard something you had none of yourself.

Sandy doubted the others had noticed yet just how badly Jack seemed to want their attention – badly enough to forgive them so much already – but he had.

Usually it took Sandy ages to make a decision, but this once...this decision was easy. He was going to have to try harder this time, to keep things going, if only for Jack's sake. Drifting apart could very well destroy Jack's very center, and he'd do whatever he had to to keep that from happening.

They'd gotten so bad, Sandy could remember years on end when he hadn't 'spoken' to any of them, save a wave as North rushed by on his yearly rounds or to Tooth's baby teeth as they collected teeth. Years he'd spent mostly asleep, drifting around the world on his cloud, letting the dreams spread without his aid.

Though...now that he thought about it...several times the baby teeth had been more interested in him than in getting back to Tooth. Almost as if...no, the baby teeth couldn't have been trying to fix things if even the Guardians themselves hadn't realized they had broken.

...could they?

Jack was still asleep when North woke the next morning, the older Guardian noticed when he looked out the window in the small sitting room connected to his bedroom. The yeti had set up a guard over the sleeping spirit after he'd landed in a snowbank outside the Pole, even though there was little threat to him here.

The guard had changed several times during the night, despite the cold not bothering the yeti with their thick coats, and it comforted North to see them watching over Jack so attentively, almost as if trying to make up for keeping him out of the Pole for all those years.

He might not have known where Jack was without the yeti standing guard over him, despite having a clear view of Jack's chosen spot from his window. There was little sign of Jack himself – he'd near buried himself in the snow, just a little hint of brown there, a peek of blue here peeping out from under the thin layer of snow covering him to give him away. It was a little disturbing, if North were honest with himself, but the yeti were keeping close enough watch to let him know if anything were wrong.

He sat in his huge chair in front of the window, warm cup of cocoa forgotten in his hands as he stared over the snow. Sleep had been long in coming last night despite his exhaustion, and the thoughts that had kept him awake were still running through his head.

North didn't want to believe it was as bad as the others had said...but he'd been thinking it over all night, and for once, he had to admit defeat. They were falling apart, had been for years. When was the last time they'd been together just for each others' company, with no other reason then they felt like it? When had he been willing to let the yeti work on their own so he could take a break and visit the others rather than obsess over his holiday, or build something new for the sake of its wonder even if it had nothing to do with Christmas?

He was just as guilty as the others were...he'd been so wrapped up in creating new toys, new wonders, he hadn't even seen a child in longer than he could remember, hadn't left the Pole save for his once yearly route in just as long.

Feeling rather guilty for thinking it, but hoping it all the same, North hoped Jack was tired enough to sleep the day away. He had a feeling the meeting later was going to get messy, and the last thing they needed was Jack walking in on it. Not while they weren't sure yet how to break the news that the oath he'd taken meant that he'd married all of them, and more so while they tried to begin fixing what had broken.

North had the yetis set up a room deep inside the Pole for this meeting, with foods set out for the other Guardians...and he hoped he wasn't insulting them, that he'd remembered what they liked. It hurt to realize, but as he'd sent the request for the food he'd had flashes of memory, meetings as they had begun to drift apart where he'd been forgetful enough to just have his usual diet up for offer at these meetings, meat and cookies predominant.

Meat and cookies, for someone who couldn't...or wouldn't, they'd never really gotten the full story of that...eat meat and another obsessed with dental care. Sandy barely ate, but it was light foods when he did, and while a cookie or two might make the cut, meat certainly didn't.

Well, he tossed back the eggnog like it was water, but eggnog hardly counted.

The door opened as North continued to brood over the food, and he turned and brightened as Sandy floated into the room. Sandy grinned as he saw the spread, the look easing a little of the knot in North's stomach even as the tiny bit of guilt refused to stop.

As Sandy floated toward the table, North scooped the dreamweaver up into his arms. He held Sandy close, gently, reminding himself again that Sandy was fine now, back and here with all of them, barely able to keep himself from crushing Sandy to his chest.

Sandy pulled back just enough to press his mouth to North's, his favorite form of affection. North returned the kiss with interest, as if to make up for all the time passed, all the opportunities missed.

North pulled away finally, just enough to pepper kisses over Sandy's face, the smaller spirit silently giggling and obviously enjoying the attention. He ran his small hands over North's hair when North stopped, burying his face in the space between Sandy's shoulder and neck and just holding him.

There was a soft buzzing vibration as two more arms wrapped around Sandy and North's shoulders, Tooth's head coming to rest on North's free shoulder. Warmth enveloped them as Bunny draped himself over North's back, wrapping around all of them.

Later, they'd never be able to say who started crying first or who said the first "I'm sorry." As one they slowly dropped to the floor, still holding each other tightly, uncaring of tears that soaked feathers, cloth, fur, and sand as they held each other close.

None of them could say how long they stayed like that, just wrapped up in each other, drawing in the scent and warmth and feel of skin and sand and feathers and fur that they'd denied each other for so many years without meaning to.

Slowly they broke apart, coughing and rubbing at eyes and faces, not looking at each other. There were napkins on the table, and though they didn't do much for feathers or sand or thick fur, they still mopped at reddened eyes and faces.

Even though there were chairs set up around the table, they sank to the pile of cushions by the fire instead, still reaching for each other, almost as if the others would disappear if they didn't touch to be sure they were still there.

The room was quiet save for soft murmurs, the crackling of the fire, and faint sounds of the workshop that filtered through the heavy doors.

Eventually Tooth sighed, stroking her hand lightly across one of Bunny's ears. "How did we get so bad?" she asked softly, voice heavy with regret.

North sighed. "I...did not think we had gotten so," he admitted. Bunny snorted softly, flicking an ear, but didn't comment. "Not until last night, when I truly thought it over. But is true. Is much worse than I thought."

"I couldn't remember the last time I brought all of ya ta the Warren," Bunny said quietly, shifting so Tooth could reach more of his fur. "Or the last time we were all together without a threat to th' kids involved."

There was silence for a time again before Tooth shifted. "I...I think," she said, voice subdued, "that I just kept thinking that there was always so much to do, it wouldn't matter if I put off visiting for just a little longer, to get the work done. If I could just finish this next batch, then I could take some time..."

"But then there was always more to do," North finished the thought for her. "And there was always more time to visit, later, and then..."

"Then we'd gone years without seeing each other," Bunny finished.

Sandy tossed up sand signs, too fast and jumbled to be understood completely, but the general idea was easy enough to understand – they had to fix this, for themselves as much as for Jack. And if they drifted apart again after bringing Jack in...

"Sandy, ya don't really think..." Bunny started, ears going up in alarm as Sandy nodded.

*Broken heart equal sign broken snowflake*

Knowing he had their attention, Sandy kept going with his signs, getting harder to read by the minute. Once, they might have understood, but now...

"Let me see if I understand," Tooth said finally. "If we bring Jack in and then break his heart, even by accident, you think we'll...break his center?"

Sandy nodded solemnly. _Can't be the Guardian of Joy if you have no Joy._

"First we start for ourselves," North said, arms tightening around the others. "Cannot be solid for others if not solid foundation to build on. But...where to begin?"


	4. Chapter 4

The Guardians had been closeted in the third family room for hours now, and the yeti and tooth fairies were beginning to worry – and to hope. The four of them had hardly spoken for years, and now they were alone for hours?

Several yeti were clustered around the door, muttering among themselves but refusing to touch the door. Elves ran among their feet, not helping as per usual for elves, not being as respectful as the yeti as they pressed their ears against the thick door, running off when the thick and magical wood resisted their efforts to eavesdrop through it and they got bored.

The few baby teeth who had come to see what was taking their mother so long to come home were talking among themselves, squeaking excitedly. Oh, they so hoped their mother and her husbands were making things right with each other! A few of the yeti nodded, sharing that sentiment. It would be a shame if it took something this big to get them to realize what the yeti, eggs, elves, mermaids, and baby teeth had known for years, but if this was what it took then so be it.

It wasn't as if any of the things they'd tried over the years had worked, after all.

* * *

Inside the room, the four Guardians were still collapsed in front of the fire, though more emotionally drained than before. The last few hours had seen more tears than they'd shed in centuries as they talked and talked, trying to salvage what they could of what they'd had.

The conversation was rambling at times, and they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other, even during the most sober discussions. Tempers had run high more than once, and it was only those soothing hands that brought them from the edge of full on arguments.

Everything was being pulled out and laid bare – just how irritating it was to have your holiday dismissed, how each of them had gotten so wrapped up in their own work they neglected everything else, every little thing that had been dismissed or set aside for a later that had finally come.

Finally out of things to say – for the moment, at least – they just laid together in front of the fire. Idly, hands began to roam, no real intent behind any of them beyond reassuring touch.

Sandy's hands found themselves preening Tooth's feathers, running between them softly, while North stroked through Bunny's fur. It took him a few strokes to remember just how much thinner and more sensitive Bunny's skin was than the yeti's, since it had been so long since any of them had helped Bunny comb out his winter coat or just help him to brush it out, to deal with tangles.

It was comforting, almost sleepy, as they stroked and petted each other. Bunny found himself sleepily nudged against North's leg, and the buzzing of Tooth's wings was slow, just an occasional flicker of motion.

Bunny cracked an eye open in time to see Sandy's eyes turn mischievous, and he blinked sleep out of his eyes to see what Sandy had planned.

Then Sandy leaned forward to press a kiss to Tooth's mouth, and Bunny heard the little gasp she gave as he deepened it further than she was expecting, the sleepy grooming suddenly turning heated.

She broke away and giggled, bright and happy. "You're as bad as Nightlight," she said, half scolding. He grinned, unrepentant, and gave her another kiss, sleepier and gentler than the last.

"I hope they'll be back soon," Bunny mumbled, arching a little into the hand North slid down his back.

"We will have big surprise for them, is sure," North agreed, stroking changing to rubbing at the base of Bunny's ears, where only fellow Guardians were allowed to touch. Bunny started to rumble and the others went quiet to simply listen, refusing to think about how long it had been since they'd heard such a sound.

Actually, it might have been... "How long have they been gone?" Tooth asked softly, snuggling closer to Sandy as he pressed another kiss to her cheek.

"Too long," was the answer she received, and there was little talking after that point.

* * *

A pair of arms shot from the snow, showing the shocked yeti. Jack's upper body followed, rising out of the snow like a vampire in a b-movie.

"I live!" he crowed, to the mingled consternation and amusement of the yeti guards. "Well, close enough," he muttered, pulling himself the rest of the way out of the snow. "...wait, were you guys...guarding me?" he asked, apparently only now noticing his audience.

The yeti grumbled an affirmative and Jack was too surprised to hide his shock until it was too late.

Quickly pasting on a smile that was only half fake – because yeah, they might have been there to make sure he actually went into the Pole to talk to the other Guardians, but the fact remained that they had been watching over him while he slept – Jack floated up about a foot to be on eye level with his guards. "Well, thanks, guys. The others all inside?"

The yeti to his left grumbled something, gesturing widely with both arms. Jack watched carefully, but still... "Sorry, didn't get a word of that." Jack grinned wider as the yeti groaned, burying its face in its hands. "Hey, it's not like you guys gave me lessons in yeti beyond 'go away'," Jack snarked at them. He'd picked up a general idea of what they were trying to say, but, well...

Both yeti looked abashed at that, or at least, as abashed as they could look behind all the fur. Jack tried not to let his irritation show. Yes, he'd been breaking in – but that was after the first few times when he came to the front door and was turned away. Their own fault for turning it into a game, really.

He tossed the yeti a grin and a lazy salute as snatched up his staff and took to the air.

It felt so good to be in the air again, where it was so cold he could feel the ice forming on his clothes and hair.

The air was thin this high up as he took his time before going inside the Pole, going up higher than was probably safe.

If he were human, he would suffocate up this high, but it didn't bother Jack. Eventually he'd start to see spots in front of his eyes and have to fly lower, but for these few minutes there was nothing but a sky so blue it was almost white and the white, almost featureless ground below.

Deciding he'd put it off for long enough, Jack dove down toward the Pole. The wind whistled around him as he picked up speed, drawing up at the last second to feel the snow on the roof blast out behind him from his backdraft.

Pulling up, he hovered, debating. Should he try the front door, now that North had said he'd be let in, or go for one of the windows, or even the balcony he could see jutting out of the side nearby?

A yeti pulled open the door to the balcony and waved, making up Jack's mind for him. Balcony it was.

He did a backflip on the way down just for the heck of it and thoroughly enjoyed Phil's eyeroll.

Phil grunted at him once he'd landed, waving his arms and gesturing Jack inside as he spoke.

Jack wasn't sure, but he thought he caught enough words to get the gist of what Phil was saying – that he was welcome here now, just don't cause too much mischief because they're on a schedule here remember?

Jack just grinned, refusing to think about what might happen if he did disrupt that schedule just now. Probably get kicked out of the Pole, and he wasn't sure for how long that would last. He was probably on borrowed time as it was.

Better enjoy it while it lasted.

"So, where are the others at? North wanted to talk to me when I woke up..." Jack said, turning as he walked to take in as much of the Pole as he could. He had a feeling he could go exploring in here for a decade and still not see everything.

Phil started talking again, making sure he had Jack's attention and going slower this time, obviously trying to make himself understood.

"You...think I should go...eat something first?" Jack guessed, and Phil beamed through the copious fur, so Jack guessed he got it right.

He hesitated as Phil urged him to follow. He hardly ever had to eat, since he was, far as he could tell, mostly dead...but the smells coming from the kitchen that the impatient Phil dragged him to like a balloon smelled so much better than anything he could make...fire wasn't his friend, and while he could provide for himself, it didn't mean he could get his hands on the sort of supplies the yeti had.

Phil pushed him – though more gently than usual, almost fondly – towards a smallish table out of the way of the bustle of the kitchen when it looked like Jack would just stand in the doorway and stare.

The kitchen was just as busy as the main workshop, maybe even busier if it were possible. Jack was actually kind of glad to be off to the side, out of the way where even he couldn't mess anything up.

Phil started to walk off before he paused and turned back to Jack. Another series of charades accompanied yeti as he asked Jack what sounded like a question.

He repeated it, patiently enough, a second time before the figurative light bulb went off for Jack. "Uh, yeah, I can eat hot things, I usually just cool them down a little," he said, and Phil nodded before bustling off.

The yeti was back in a few minutes with soup and sandwiches, and Jack laughed. "And here I thought all North ate was cookies," he said, and Phil launched into what sounded like an oft repeated rant.

Jack watched, enjoying the show as he ate. If he wasn't half dead, he'd probably eat himself sick, he was eating so fast, and Phil paused his rant long enough to tell him to slow down. At least, Jack was pretty sure that was what he said.

It was hard to slow down, though. It'd been a long time since he'd eaten anything, and he'd never had anything as good as this soup, but he tried. It was a little odd...he could half taste it, knew it probably was stronger flavored than what he could taste, but it was still better than the few times he'd snitched something or bothered trying to cook.

Despite that the meal was gone in minutes, and he collected the plates, about to go wash them when they were snitched from his hands by an indignant yeti. They relented enough to pat his head with apparently amused appreciation when he looked utterly shocked and confused before bustling off with the dirty dishes.

He rocked back on his heels, suddenly at a loss. North had wanted to talk to him after he woke up, but he had no clue where in this labyrinth of a building North could be.

Jack glanced up at Phil, giving the yeti puppy eyes without meaning too, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Part of him still expected the yeti to hustle him to the door or nearest window any second now, and he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to keep pushing his luck and get to stay for a bit longer, or try and get it over with before he got used to it.

"So..." he said finally, "think you can show me where North is now? He said he wanted to talk to me when I woke up...probably to tell me to keep away from the workshop," he added in an undertone, shaking his head quickly to dispel the thought.

They were friends now, right? Friends were allowed to visit...okay maybe not to get into the areas with all the sensitive stuff but...

Who was he kidding? He was Jack Frost, he made a mess of everything. North wasn't going to be foolish enough to let him anywhere near where they made the toys, or anything else.

A strong, furry hand patted his shoulder, knocking Jack off his feet. He was floating and upright before Phil noticed what had happened, and Jack matched his smile, sure it was meant as reassurance.

At the moment, he'd take what he could get, no matter how fleeting it was.

Phil nodded once, sharply, as if satisfied with whatever he saw, before gesturing for Jack to follow him.

Jack suspected, about five minutes later, that either North had made the Pole into a labyrinth or Phil was deliberately leading him in circles.

He was about to point that out to Phil and find out what was going on when the yeti stormed forward, grunting and waving his arms, dispersing a crowd of yeti and elves. The baby teeth that had been hovering above their heads sought refuge in Jack's hoodie, already knowing he was wrapped around their tiny fingers.

Jack giggled softly as their feathers tickled him, squirming down into the slightly chill depths of his hoodie and hitting skin, still trying for a straight face when Phil glanced back at him, raising a bushy eyebrow. He groaned and made a flapping motion at Jack, and it took a couple of seconds to realize it was meant for the baby teeth.

The few who could still see Phil chirped indignantly, looking up at Jack with huge, pleading eyes. Already weak to them, Jack stroked tiny heads with a featherlight touch, and they snuggled victoriously into his hoodie.

Phil's complaining grumbles sounded amused, but he turned away to knock at the door. "You can't stay long," Jack whispered to the Baby Teeth as Phil opened the door a crack, calling in yeti to the occupants. "I'm too cold, you'll catch a chill or worse," he said to the disappointed eyes and wibbling pouts.

The Baby Teeth accepted that, if a little grudgingly, settling in to enjoy their time before they had to leave.

Phil turned to gesture Jack into the room and Jack flew past him in a rush, a "Thanks Phil see ya later," coming out as one word as he burst into the room, plastering a huge grin across his face.

"Hey North you said you wanted to talk later and I'm all rested now so what'd you want to talk about?" he called, all in one breath.

Conceal, don't let them know how you really feel, not yet. You've already shown them too much. You can't let them know how broken you really are, not yet, not so soon, the mantra ran through Jack's head as he hovered over North's head.

* * *

A/N: Guess who totally forgot what today was until an hour later than she posts to Tumblr? Whoops. It's still Monday, so it still counts, even if it is late, right? :)


	5. Chapter 5

North beamed up at Jack as Jack flew into the room, as if he was truly glad to see him. "You slept long, my friend! How is first day as official Guardian feeling?"

Jack grinned, this one unforced. "Lookin' good so far," he said happily. North laughed and Jack took the opportunity to glance at the others.

Bunny was sprawled in front of the fire, utterly relaxed (or exhausted, Jack wasn't sure), which was odd to Jack in and of itself. Apart from those few seconds with Sophie in the Warren, he'd never seen Bunny relax, or be anything other than keyed up, tense and alert.

Sandy was sitting on the floor, leaning against Bunny's back and looking faintly smug. Tooth shot up from the floor on Bunny's other side, grinning hugely.

Darting over, she threw her arms around Jack and spun them in a hug, much as she had on Jack's lake.

Jack froze, trying not to stiffen up in her arms. It was almost more shocking the second time, the sudden warmth wrapped around him and her head on his shoulder and too much touch too soon too much but good at the same time and he didn't know what to do or how to react.

She let go and fluttered a few feet away before Jack could react, leaving him gasping. Tooth had already turned and touched North's shoulder gently, and Jack took the moment to try and recover.

One of the baby teeth tucked into his collar chirped up at him with worry and he tried to summon up a grin for her. He didn't think she bought it, but thankfully she let it drop.

"I need to head back to Punjam Hy Loo," Tooth was saying to North as Jack reassured the little fairy. "I've haven't left the girls on their own like this in centuries, and it was a much smaller operation then."

"...Pun...?" Jack mouthed softly, though not softly enough as Tooth glanced at him, smiling brightly.

"Punjam Hy Loo," she repeated. "It's the proper name for the Tooth Palace. Not that anyone really remembers anymore..." she added softly, drooping a little, though she brightened again so quickly Jack almost missed it. "You'll have to come by and get a proper tour, now that the girls have everything back the way it should be. You can, can't you? I mean, we never even asked what it is that you do or what duties you have or..."

"I'd love a tour," Jack said, cutting of the flow of Tooth's words as she worked herself up. "Maybe in a couple of days? It's been a long weekend, we're all still tired and you need to get back into the swing..." he trailed off.

Tooth beamed. "Sounds great, Jack! I can't wait to show you everything! Come on, ladies, we'd best get back to work in the meantime. You can visit Jack later."

There were disappointed chirps from inside Jack's hoodie as the Baby Teeth fluttered out, rejoining their mother.

Baby Tooth, who'd been hiding in Jack's hair, hesitated, fluttering uncertainly between Jack and her mother.

"Go on," Jack said. "I'll visit soon."

Baby Tooth chirped, something too fast for Jack to have a chance to understand, before darting forward and hugging his cheek. She was back at her mother's side a few seconds later, and Tooth was giving her daughter a slightly confused look before shrugging, apparently setting her thoughts aside for later.

"We meet in week, yes?" North said, hesitating for a brief moment before patting Tooth's shoulder. She swooped in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck before flitting toward the door.

"One week," she called back, waving before darting off.

Jack looked up at North questioningly, setting his staff down and hopping gracefully up to perch on the crook.

"We'll be meetin' up a week from today," Bunny called from his spot in front of the fire, and Jack looked over to see him stretching, all lean grace. "Here, at the Pole. Used ta do it all the time, but sorta just...stopped. Think ya can remember ta drop in, Frostbite?"

The question lacked the bite it would have had just a day before, so Jack shrugged and answered honestly. "I get mixed up on time. Can't always keep track."

"Will send yeti to fetch you," North offered. "Will likely have to do same for others, get lost in jobs just as easy."

"No. Sacks," Jack said, pretending to be stern and pointing at North.

North looked perplexed. "Thought you said liked being shoved in sack."

Bunny covered his face with a paw as Sandy giggled. "Ya need ta talk to someone other than the yeti," he grumped. "Even I caught the sarcasm on that an' I don't get humor."

Jack eyed Bunny at that, kicking off his staff to float overhead as the pooka got to his feet, Sandy drifting up like a balloon. When Bunny didn't seem about to elaborate on his statement Jack twisted in midair until he was face to upside down face with Bunny.

"Say what?" he asked. Bunny snorted, the air ruffling Jack's hair, though the sound felt more amused than irritated.

"Pooka warriors, they were all about logic, not humor," North cut in when Bunny hesitated. "Bunny has come long way since we first met. But Pooka humor apparently does not translate. Still has trouble with human humor."

Jack tilted his head to the side, still floating upside down. "That...explains a few things," he said finally. "Not everything, but..."

Bunny snorted again, and Jack flipped right side up as though Bunny had blown him that way. He laughed, and Bunny gave another snort, more amused this time.

"Maybe it does, a' that," Bunny said, flicking an ear. He glanced over at North, who nodded back, patting Bunny's shoulder. Bunny made a show of shrugging the hand off, leaving North grinning. "We...need to talk," the Pooka said reluctantly, and Jack dropped back onto his staff, dread weighing him down like an anchor, all the fun that had been keeping him afloat fleeing his body in one rush.

This was it, they'd been being nice earlier and they'd remembered just who they'd invited in and it was all over before it had even begun, they'd just wanted to use him after all...

"We kind of...made a lot o' assumptions 'bout things," Bunny said, puffing out his cheeks and huffing. "Seems like we got a lot ta clear up, 'tween all of us, but 'specially 'tween you 'n me. If we're gonna be...if we're gonna be a team, then we better clear it all up, yeah?"

Weird, it almost sounded like Bunny was searching for a word there and substituted 'team' at the last second. Jack wondered at it, but let it drop.

Because hey, talking was good, right?

Outwardly, though, all he did was shrug. "Guess so, kangaroo," he said instead, unable to pass up the teasing rhyme.

To his surprise, Bunny smiled at the nickname instead of getting angry.

"Eh, showpony," he muttered instead, almost fond or amused. He hesitated before patting North on the shoulder. "I should get back ta th' Warren. Still got some cleanin' ta finish up."

Jack slid off his staff, landing on the ground and clutching the staff close in unconscious defense. "Um...could you use...some help with that?" he offered cautiously. Maybe he wasn't directly responsible, but he still felt almost...like those crushed eggs he'd seen in Bunny's tunnels were a violation, a wrongness that needed set right.

Bunny paused, ears twitching as he looked over at Jack with surprise. "Ya sure about that, Frostbite? It's gonna be a lot o' work yet, and the Warren's eternal spring, ya know."

"I won't freeze it!" Jack protested, holding the staff closer. "I have better control than that!"

Bunny held up his hands placatingly. "Didn't mean that," he said quickly, all three Guardians looking a little surprised at Jack's outburst even as he refused to meet their eyes. "Just thought it might not be comfortable for ya, what with it bein' so warm an' all. Tha's all."

"Oh," Jack said, shifting uncomfortably. It was...odd, to just have a conversation with Bunny, and not have him jumping down his throat for things Jack hadn't and had no intention of doing wrong.

Odd, but...kind of nice. Best not to get used to it, it probably wouldn't last, but nice all the same.

"It's not a problem," Jack said instead of voicing those thoughts. "The heat doesn't bother me. It's harder to make ice if I have to, but I keep myself cool. That...wouldn't be a problem, though, right? It wasn't earlier."

"Eh, spring can get chilly," Bunny waved it off, almost like he was making an effort to be nice, while Sandy beamed at both of them. "It's the freeze the plants can't take, not a chill. Thing's'll be apples. Just didn't think ya'd want to help."

Jack shrugged again, not sure just what to say or even if he should. He settled with, "It's just...not right. To leave it like that."

Bunny and North shared an inscrutable look. North shrugged, Bunny grimaced, North answered it with a grin, and Bunny rolled his eyes, all while Sandy silently giggled and Jack watched on in bafflement.

Apparently those few motions took the place of a conversation, as Bunny turned back to Jack. "Ya really feel that way, mate? Fair dinkum?"

Jack mouthed "Fair dinkum?" to himself, biting back a laugh. Yes, he traveled the world, but Australia didn't get _that_ much snow. Looked like he was going to have to brush up on his Aussie slang along with his Russian.

He coughed back another laugh as he looked up and caught Bunny's eye twitching, clearing his throat quickly. "Uh...yeah. Yeah, I do."

North beamed and clapped Jack on the back. "Jack is right, Warren needs cleaned. Is not right, to leave eggs like that. Yeti and elves are in disarray, need me here or would help. We can talk later, yes Jack?"

Jack hid a wince. He'd forgotten North wanted to talk to him in the reminder of the state of Bunny's Warren. "Yeah, sure, North. Um...unless it was important we talk now?"

North waved it off. "Is more important things are put to rights. Can talk later. Will wait. Why not come up after both are finished? Can have cookies and milk while we talk. Unless have work to do?" he added after a moment of thought, looking surprised, and surprising Jack too. He'd brushed off work as 'snowballs and fun times' earlier, but apparently, something made North change his mind on that.

Maybe seeing all the work Bunny really did have to put in to Easter, even when he was doing a rush job on it and not personally painting eggs, did.

Still, he looked relieved when Jack shook his head. "Nah, it's too late into spring now. I might have a few more nights where I gotta add frost to stuff, but nothing big."

Bunny's ears tilted forward in interest, but let it drop. Interrogating Jack now wasn't going to get his Warren cleaned.

Instead, he tapped open a tunnel, looking back over his shoulder at Jack. "Comin', Frostbite?"

Jack gave North a grin, laughing openly as North began to lament over "Not the wood floors, takes forever to get flower out!" as the tunnel closed behind them and the pair rocketed along the mossy surface.

It was just as much fun as the last time, maybe even more. After all, this time, Sandy was back at the Pole with North, safe and sound and _alive_ , and there wasn't a threat looming over their heads.

Bunny slowed his run and came to a stop and the end of the tunnel, sitting up and watching with some amusement as Jack flipped a somersault in the air to slow down after being catapulted from the tunnel from the speed they'd picked up.

Jack laughed, coming to rest lightly as a snowflake on the packed dirt of the path into the Warren. "Whoo, still a rush the second time," he commented lightly, looking around.

Bunny rolled his eyes but found himself smiling despite himself at Jack's antics. "I was too tired ta get to the cleanin' last night," he admitted. "Ready ta get down ta it?"

Jack nodded absently, eyes wandering over the Warren. "Take the long way?" he asked softly. "I didn't get to see anything earlier, not really."

Surprised but flattered, Bunny found himself nodding. "Right this way, then, Frostbite."


	6. Chapter 6

True to his word, Bunny took Jack the long way around to the meadow that lead to the egg tunnels that were still covered in the remains of Easter.

Jack, for his part, was staring about himself in wonder. Bunny finally gave in to his curiosity and spoke up, expressing surprise that Jack was so curious. "Didn't think Spring was your thing, considering..." he trailed off, the subject of a certain blizzard heavy in his thoughts.

Jack shrugged, hovering over a hyacinth and sniffing deep. He landed to take a better look at the flower, reaching out a gentle finger to trace over the soft petals, careful not to leave frost. "Most folks are pretty happy to see the back of me by the time these flowers are out," he said noncommittally, trying for casual to cover the hurt left by that. He glanced at Bunny out of the corner of his eye, not sure if he should bring up what they were both thinking about or not.

Finally he sighed, deciding to get it over with. It was fun while it lasted, at least. "Go on and ask, Cottontail. You're gonna keep thinking about it until you do."

Bunny looked at him steadily and Jack fought to keep a straight face, staring back at him as levelly as possible, perhaps even glaring a little, before finally looking away. "Right. Well. Frostbite, I reckin' I prob'ly jumped the gun a bit that day, an' assumed things tha' weren't true, but just tell me _why_. Why Easter?"

"I didn't know it was Easter," Jack said, hating how stiff he sounded even to his own ears. "And..." he scuffed a foot along the dirt path, trying not to frost it in his anxiety. See if they still wanted him as a Guardian after this. "I just...it had been a really long time, okay? Since anyone even acknowledged I existed. And then there were all these new ice rinks and snow machines, and no one needed me anymore. So...so I'm already on edge, right? And then General Winter starts brewing up this massive storm, and it's a killer one, really bitter cold and way too late in the season for snow so no one's going to be ready for something like that, hell they wouldn't be ready for it if it was winter, but he runs off when he sees me coming and I still don't really get why but he does, and I'm trying to wrestle it under control but it's really not what I do all the time and I'm already worked up and I managed to get it a bit gentler than it was but..." he finished the breathless recitation with a eloquent gesture of arms and hands and staff, trying to imply 'just couldn't take anymore,' 'lost control,' and 'had to let it all out' without the words for it. "So. Yeah. Easter of '68."

Bunny, meanwhile, had a somewhat startled look about the eyes, ears tilted back as he stared at Jack, nose twitching as he processed the flood of words that had erupted so unexpectedly.

Jack shifted from foot to foot, wondering just what Bunny was thinking. Probably how they shouldn't have sworn someone as weak as he was into Guardianship. There had to be a reason not even the Man in the Moon wanted him after creating him.

"Well, tha' explains a lot," Bunny finally said, crouching to scratch behind his ear thoughtfully. "Leaves out a lot, too, but explains a lot. Shoulda known better ahead a time. Ya hadn't been malicious 'fore that, just irritating, so I shoulda known ya wouldn't ruin someone's holiday out o' spite."

It was Jack's turn to look surprised, and Bunny chuckled as he set out again for the tunnels they meant to clean. "It wouldn't be th' first time someone tried messin' with Easter," he said conversationally as he loped along and Jack floated overhead, now more interested in Bunny than the flowers. "Or Christmas. They usually leave Tooth 'n Sandy alone, since they don' have one big day. Spirits underestimate 'em an' what they do. But me 'n North, well..."

He trailed off as they reached the first tunnel, staring down at all the crushed eggs.

Jack came to earth beside him, a chill hand hesitating over Bunny's shoulder before dropping back to his side. "I...I'm so sorry," he said softly. "I never meant for this to happen."

"I know," Bunny said, looking as if he'd like to touch Jack, raising a hand but lowering it hesitantly. "It wasn't your fault, Frostbite."

"Didn't help, either," Jack muttered. After a few more seconds of tense, painful silence he plastered a smile on his face and floated a few feet into the air, grin turning genuine as he shot towards the first tunnel. "C'mon, Kangaroo! I'm already on it, try and keep up! Bet you finish after me!"

Bunny, who'd expected to spent the next few hours depressed at best and more likely furious at Pitch, found himself laughing. "Oh, I don't think so, mate!" he cried, dashing after Jack. "Get back here!"

* * *

Time was hard to keep track of in the tunnels, but it was growing dark in the Warren proper when the two emerged from the last of the tunnels.

There were several baskets sitting at the mouth of each of the tunnels, each filled with eggshell. Jack wasn't sure why Bunny wanted to save them, or why he wanted them kept in nice condition (which meant no ice, since the wet could hurt the colors until Bunny did something to make them, and the shells, more permanent) but he played along.

Bunny stretched, front paws on the ground and back arching as he groaned and arched, and Jack looked away. There was something about the pose that made him uncomfortable, and it didn't feel right to stare.

Scratching let him know it was safe to look again, and he glanced back to see the Bunny glancing away, lowering the leg he'd used to scratch his ear.

"Thanks for th' help, mate," he said, rather than commenting. "Went a lot faster than it would've without." He glanced up at the darkening 'sky' of the Warren, nose twitching. "Still late, though. Want some tucker? Been a long day."

"...tucker?"

"Food, mate," Bunny translated with a hint of a smile. "Hungry?" He didn't wait for an answer, loping off deeper into the Warren with two of the baskets.

Jack hesitated before following, a thoughtful look on his face that Bunny missed and a basket in hand, another on the crook of his staff. It had been ages since he'd felt hungry, which made sense now that he had his memories back, that he'd likely died before the man in the moon could raise him. He ate occasionally, but the times when he was hungry were...well, he couldn't really remember the last time he'd been properly hungry and not just eating because it felt right at the time.

But really, though, what was with other people suddenly wanting to feed him? First Phil, now Bunny...maybe it was some odd sort of apology these grumpy types shared, Jack thought with a chuckle.

Jack was shaken from his thoughts when they reached Bunny's home, and he had to stop and stare for a few seconds in surprise and appreciation.

Because from the outside, it looked, if he was being honest, like Bag-End of middle-earth fame, just with an egg-shaped green door instead of a round one, and human sized rather than hobbit, and so covered with flowers and ivy it seemed to have grown there, with windows peeking out from behind the trailing vines.

He didn't bother to hide the huge grin as he followed Bunny inside. He, _Jack Frost_ , was being given an open invite into The Easter Bunny's home! He knew of spirits way older and more powerful than him who would've done just about anything for this!

Bunny set his baskets down just inside the door, so Jack copied him, not bothering to hide his boggling.

Bunny's home wasn't like the ever moving activity of the Pole, where everything was moving and never still, colors and lights and indescribable wonder, or the deceptively delicate beauty of Tooth's palace, buzzing with light and activity.

It was...Jack had expected it to be almost fanatically neat, but instead, there were art projects draped over everything. Every surface was paint stained, and near every surface was cluttered with...with _stuff._

He bit back a laugh at the white mugs on the counter, labeled in what he guessed was North's writing (he was the only one of them Jack could see writing in such a large, blocky, strong script, though he'd yet to see any of them actually write anything out) with _Paint Water_ and _Not Paint Water_.

He'd love to hear the story behind _those_. Oh, sure, it was pretty easy to get the idea, but he wanted to hear it.

There were brushes everywhere, and cloths to wipe them on, as if Bunny was constantly painting things and needed paint or cloth at hand at an instant's notice. The paintings sitting scattered about held that theory out, half-finished portraits of Guardians and children, eggs and landscapes and a dozen other subjects, most of which looked like they'd been set aside long ago and forgotten.

And that was a shame, considering how good some of them were.

He was distracted from them by Bunny turning toward him, holding bowls of what looked like salad. "Can ya grab the tea, mate? Or is it too hot? There's potholders on th' hook," he said, nodding back at a kettle on something that looked similar to a stove, but just different enough to make Jack look at it oddly before snatching the offered potholder.

He had a vague feeling that seeing him grab a hot kettle and not be bothered by the heat would disturb Bunny. Besides, he'd said to use it, so that meant he expected Jack to. Not his fault – or Jack's – that as far as he could tell, he didn't 'feel' things the same as everyone else. Not...not as intensely, as far as he could tell.

Besides, it had come in handy at times. Sure, he'd been sore and knew he'd had some pretty big injuries after the battle...what was it, just a day ago? Two days? But he'd have had it a lot worse if he hadn't been this way.

Silently he set the kettle on the table and sat down, not sure if he could eat or if he should try. He'd eaten earlier at the Pole, after all. What if it didn't work, that he was too full from the soup? Then Bunny'd be insulted that Jack didn't like his food, and Jack would have to explain, how he was technically dead and he hadn't known for three hundred years and...

Bunny was looking at him oddly crap crap _crap_. "You okay there, Jack?" he asked, ears tilting as he looked him over with concern. "You don't have to eat it if ya don' like salad, I'm just not much on eatin' meat. Can't really stomach it."

Jack summoned up a smile, and really, it wasn't hard. "It's not...I don't..." he poked at the salad with his fork before deciding damn the consequences, he was going to try it.

He was _not_ going to insult Bunny by turning down his food. Okay, so his manners weren't the best, but he could remember the ones his mother had drummed into him when he was alive now.

And because the thought of his mother and the life he'd left behind was depressing him already, he stuffed some of the salad into his mouth.

The few times he'd tried to eat before, the food had been half tasteless and sat like sawdust in his mouth, and he didn't expect much better, even though the soup from the yeti had been better. He'd figured that was just something to do with the heat and the yeti's own magic.

So to say he was utterly floored by the tastes and sensations that flooded his mouth with that first bite.

His face must have reflected his astonishment, as Bunny started to laugh. It was a nice laugh, and the part of Jack not stunned speechless made a note to try and make Bunny laugh more often.

The rest of him was too busy shoveling the food into his mouth to make note of anything, too overwhelmed with taste, texture, with the feel of actually being _wanting food_ for the first time since he'd first discovered he needed to eat now and again (and even then, it hadn't been this strong, or tasted quite so good).

"Eh, mate, slow down, you're acting like ya ain't eaten in centuries," Bunny said, half teasing and half serious. "You'll make yerself sick, eatin' like that."

Jack didn't, _couldn't_ stop until he hit the bottom of the bowl and there wasn't any more. Thankfully for his stomach, Bunny had given out small bowls, with a bigger bowl to get more from in the middle of the table, and though he desperately wanted to reach out and refill his bowl Jack had to admit Bunny's point as his stomach warned him that, immortal and spirit or not, it wasn't going to take much more abuse, between earlier and now.

He kept his gaze on the bowl, suddenly unsure and a little angry. If they'd bothered _talking_ to him once in awhile over the last three hundred years...a traitorous little voice reminded him that they'd been so busy Tooth hadn't left her palace in over four hundred years, and he was sure the others were just as bad when it came to their jobs.

He heard Bunny shift and glanced up at the Pooka. Bunny looked awkward, fiddling with his bowl and ears flicking. "Food been a little scarce lately, then, Frostbite?" he asked cautiously.

Jack shrugged. "I get by," he said evasively. It was the truth...up until now he had hardly needed any, so...

Bunny was looking at him oddly and Jack tried to shrug it off, picking up his bowl and fork to carry them to the sink. "Right. Well, you ever feel like dropping by for a bite, well, the Warren'll be open to ya. Can't speak for the others, but more'n likely the Pole 'n Tooth Palace 'n Sandy's island'll be too. An' Santoff Claussen. They've always been open to other Guardians."

Jack looked skeptical at that, though hopeful, and Bunny finally realized just what Jack reminded him of throughout this whole day – a puppy that expected to be shooed away and had found itself offered food and a treat instead, and who is still looking for the catch.

Though it was hard to catch, the spirit plastered on a smile or a smirk the instant he suspected he was being watched. Open about being amazed at the Warren or the Pole, hiding most of his emotions.

This whole 'get Jack to trust them' and 'court Jack proper' thing was going to take longer than he'd thought.

Sighing, Bunny signaled for Jack to wait, knowing he'd watch as the Pooka stepped into the hallway, opening the Closet of Doom.

As always, stepping into the Closet caused a round of cursing from Bunny as he tried to find what he wanted, along with yet another vow to get in here and organize the damn thing already.

And also as always, he forgot that vow as soon as he found what he wanted and closed the Closet of Doom behind him.

"Here, take this," he said, holding the small charm, about an inch in diameter, out to Jack, who took it gingerly as though it might explode at any second. "It's kinda like a key. Let ya open up a tunnel inta the Warren whenever ya tap twice on the ground, an' let ya through tha shields around the Pole an' Tooth Palace an' Dreamsand Island and open the doors to ya. Should give another ta the others," he added to himself in an undertone. It had been so long since they'd asked to get into the Warren, the wards probably wouldn't recognize them anymore. "Use it enough, an' sooner or later ya won't need it, the wards around 'em all will recognize ya if ya pass through 'em with that often enough. Didn't need 'em before 'cuz you were with us, an' the wards recognized that."

Jack, meanwhile, was staring at the little disc in something like awe. One side was carved with the 'G' symbol he'd seen on the giant book North had read the oath from, while a snowflake crossed by his staff was appearing on the other.

"North magicked 'em, a long time ago," Bunny explained. "It's keyin' itself ta ya. So no one else can use it. An' I magicked the chain not to break, an' not to come off th' charm."

Jack couldn't stop staring at the charm. A key, one that would let him, him of all spirits, into _The Warren,_ and Bunny just...tossed it to him. Like they weren't arguing just yesterday, like Bunny had never suspected Jack of betraying them.

He risked a glance up at Bunny and saw nothing there but sincerity, no trickery or resentment, amazingly enough.

Biting his lip, Jack decided to take the risk and accept the charm, and after a moment of debate slung the chain over his head, tucking the charm under his hoodie. He willed the tears back with willpower made strong by practice (never let them know you hurt, never let anyone see) even if the reason for them was so different this time.

"Thanks," he said instead, hoping he put everything he felt into that one, inadequate word. By the look on Bunny's face, he was close enough. "So, uh, North wanted to talk to me, so..."

"Off ya get then, mate," Bunny agreed. "See ya next week at tha' meetin'."

Jack grinned, bright and honestly happy (they might be well rid of him later, and he may have to push that along, but it was nice to feel wanted) and did a backflip into the air.

"See ya soon, kangaroo!" he shouted with a quick salute, and flew off laughing to Bunny's indignant yet amused call of " _Not a kangaroo!"_


	7. Chapter 7

For the second time in as many days Jack found himself on the Wind heading for the North Pole.

It was a strange feeling, to know that (for now, at least) he'd be welcomed inside the shielded precincts of the North Pole.

He swooped in and through the open skylight, noting in passing the group of yeti doing something to the side of the main building. He floated over the globe, watching the flurry of activity on all the layers of the Pole's hub in fascination.

There was a call from the top floor, and Jack glanced over to see Phil waving at him. A little hesitantly he dropped down to the floor in front of Phil.

Phil had been welcoming before, but as much of a game over the years keeping Jack out of the Pole had turned into, it had still been Phil's job to keep Jack out.

Instead of the scolding Jack still half expected, Phil beamed as Jack landed. He grunted out something in yeti, clapping Jack on the shoulder and gesturing for him to follow.

Jack was fairly sure it had been another welcome and being told North was waiting to talk to him, so he followed along, accepting with surprise and a thrill when Phil snatched up a cup of cocoa on the way through the Pole as they traveled down corridors Jack had never seen before, passing the cup back to Jack.

Jack hid his grin in the cup, sipping cautiously. Just like with Bunny's salad, the taste was much more intense than it had been the last time he'd tasted food at the Pole, and even if it did threaten to scald his tongue it was worth it.

He wondered, more than a bit, what it meant that he suddenly wanted – and tasted, properly tasted – food, so much more than before, like his mouth and stomach had suddenly woken.

The thought was driven from his head as Phil ushered Jack into a room deep inside the Pole, one like the workshop he and North had spoken in (had it really only been a few days ago? It felt more like months...) only even more crowded with projects.

Scrolls and books covered nearly every flat surface that wasn't already covered with bits and bobs of projects, things that sparked and glowed, floated in midair or were in a million tiny, tiny pieces.

North, who'd been bent over a large book at the other end of the room (and Jack had a suspicion it was the same book he'd read the Guardian oath from), looked up and grinned when the pair entered and he saw Jack's wonder at the new room.

"You like?" he asked, even as he strode towards them with that grin firmly in place, arms wide. "Phil, my thanks."

Phil grunted something incomprehensible at North before giving Jack's hair a quick ruffle and leaving.

Jack was shocked still for a few moments after the brief contact, too shocked to even lean into it before it was gone.

He cleared his throat and blinked rapidly, hoping North hadn't seen his reaction to that careless pat. North was still beaming at him, hands now planted firmly on hips, waiting for Jack's reaction.

"I thought you showed me your workshop earlier," Jack said, starting to walk through the cluttered room.

North waved an expressive hand. "Is other workshop. First workshop, is for ice models, new toys and ideas. This, this is _magic_. You would like to learn more, someday, perhaps? Is helpful."

Jack's hand slipped into the pocket of his hoodie, feeling some of the things he kept there for emergencies, and he smiled, still turned away from North and looking at a delicate looking creation of wire and crystal. "Maybe," he answered. "Could be fun."

North's smile grew softer at those words, and he laid a huge hand on Jack's shoulder, noting but ignoring, for now, the way Jack went stiff for a split second before almost leaning into the touch. "Come, wished to speak with you. Is much to tell you, now that you are Guardian!"

With that, he steered Jack out of the second workroom, down the hall farther into the living area of the Pole, to one of the sitting rooms that had been built for the many informal gatherings they'd used to have at the spur of the moment.

North dropped into his armchair, already mentally sketching out designs for Jack's chair. It would probably be easier than Tooth's or Bunny's...the thought promptly derailed as Jack perched on the back of a chair instead of sitting in it properly.

Now whether that was because Jack hadn't had a proper chair to sit in for centuries or just because he could, and it might irritate North, he wasn't sure. But North was amused by it, even as he debated if he should make a proper chair or one that was easy to sit in unconventionally.

Firmly setting his thoughts back on their original track, North leaned back in his chair, watching Jack settle himself on top of the chair. Really, it was amazing how the young man did that, balancing on the balls of his feet with toes gripping for stability.

Jack shifted, glancing at North out of the corner of his eye, a little shy now. "So...what was it you wanted to talk about? I thought you guys only got together when there was trouble..."

"Was not always so," North said sadly. "Got too caught up in jobs, drifted apart. Now we have second chance," he finished, beaming again. "But yes, wanted to talk. About everything. We all know so little about you, and you us. So. You know your center now, but what is it you do, Jack Frost?"

A few days ago Jack would have brushed his question off with something flippant, but North was leaning forward, arms resting on his legs, eyes intent on Jack and honestly interested, waiting eagerly for his answer. Having that much attention directed at him was...intimidating, but a nice change.

"Well, um..." he said, scratching at the back of his head. North grinned like a kid on Christmas morning, scooting his chair forward a little. "Well, I don't do that much really. I mean, a lot of it would happen without me, just not as nice I guess. I...I change the leaves on the trees, and frost things – you know, so they get ripe? So I guess I bring autumn? And I do the frost on windows and control storms a bit. I bring snow days and try to get kids to have fun in the snow. Sometimes I can lead them back if they get lost in it. I mean, it's not much compared to what you guys do..." he said awkwardly. No one, in the three hundred years he'd been Jack _Frost,_ had ever asked him just what it was he did.

"Not much?" North exclaimed, sitting back in his chair and clapping huge hands on his thighs. "Always gave impression you didn't have job before. 'Snowballs and fun times' you called it. I think you are leaving out much of what you really do. Already we are learning about each other," he finished joyfully.

Jack shrugged, grinning sheepishly. He just...didn't think of what he did much of the time. It was what he did, when it was time, and he got it done while having fun. Maybe that was why no one believed he actually worked – he was enjoying himself too much.

But why not try and make it fun if he had a choice?

Still...it was nice to hear someone _not_ dismissing him for once.

"What will you do now?" North was asking, and Jack tore himself from his thoughts to try and answer.

"Well...Winter's coming on in the southern hemisphere, but...they really don't need me, like the north does. Usually I try to hang around places that are supposed to get snow year round after spring hits. That or try and hibernate if I can. Everyone's ready to see the back of me by then anyway, it's not like I have anything better to do." He left off how unwanted he usually felt by that point, figuring there was no point in getting pity he didn't want.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before North smacked his fist into his palm, making Jack jump. "Well! Cannot change past. But Pole is open to you now. Is magic to learn, people to talk to. Would like tour now?"

Part of Jack wanted to leap on it. They'd realize just who they'd invited in soon enough and come to their senses, and he wanted as much of it as he could get before they did. But...

"I'd love to, but I was helping Bunny, and I'm kinda worn out," he said, surprised it was true. He hadn't really felt sleepy in...well, since he was human. He'd go until he passed out, curling up down in his den or somewhere safe if he didn't make it, but today...

He was surprised at how disappointed North looked. "Perhaps next week, after meeting?" the older spirit suggested hopefully. "You will come, yes?"

"If you remember to send that yeti, and _no sacks_ ," Jack said, pointing at North, playfully threatening. "Otherwise I'll probably miss it just from not knowing what day it is. Will they be able to find me?" he asked, suddenly worried. He didn't stay in one place long, save when he was tired or the few times he'd given in and hibernated, and he wasn't ready to show the other Guardians his den just yet.

But North was nodding. "You are Guardian now, so can track to a point, if willing to be tracked. Have had...reason to make spells so can track each other," he said, darkness passing over his expression, and Jack decided now wasn't a good time to ask.

"Well, okay then," he said instead, and North smiled, the moment passing. "Send me the heads up and I'll be here. It's a little late in the season for me, I usually get a nap around now," he said, lifting off the back of the chair and giving a stretch. "I was just getting one last go in beforehand. See ya next week, then, North," he finished with a wave, amazed he could say the words.

He had a feeling there was more North wanted to talk about, but as much as he wanted the companionship, it was more than Jack could handle right now. After going so long with only passing conversations with other spirits, a few hours at a time at most, all this interaction was exhausting.

* * *

Jack landed on the cliff by his lake and swung down into the well hidden cave on its face, hanging his staff on the hook he'd carved for it before he flopped into his 'bed'.

Without really thinking about it, his eyes traveled over his 'den'. There was the table he'd made with scrap wood, and it made sense now that he'd been able to work the wood so easily now that he remembered his human life and the muscle memory that transcended mental memory.

The chair that was a bit wobbly (it was a first project, and by the time he'd made it he was more used to perching on his staff anyway, so it didn't really matter), the shelf and cupboard with the few material possessions he had (like the yarn from abandoned sweaters, and the knitting needles, the few books and odds and ends that he somehow managed to accumulate), and the bed he was lying in, made up of pillows and soft things and covered with blankets he'd found or made from the yarn he scavenged.

He was used to it, the bare simplicity of it (that was probably because he didn't have enough things to be messy, but it was hard to tell if that was why he kept it so neat without being able to check) but after seeing what the other Guardians had, how they lived...his little hole couldn't even begin to compare.

At least it was clean. No matter what else he did, Jack couldn't stand to have his den dirty. A little messy or cluttered, sure, but the surfaces all gleamed, you could eat your dinner off his floor (carefully laid with stone and scrubbed to a sparkle) if you were so inclined, and he kept them that way.

Did he have to try and make something like the other Guardian's homes now? True, there was the ice castle he'd made in Antarctica, mostly to see if he could, but...it wasn't meant to live in. He couldn't invite someone like Bunny or Tooth to visit there – they'd freeze to death in minutes, if he wasn't lucky enough for their immortality to help them.

Maybe he could ask North for help...if he ever felt ready to show them the castle. If he was able to stick around long enough. Ugh. Something. He was too tired for this. Groaning, he buried his head in the blankets and resolved to think about it later. Too much had happened these last few days to sort it all out at once.


	8. Chapter 8

North's spell worked just like he said it would. And apparently, he could take a hint as broad as 'no sacks' when it was said that seriously and directly to his face, sending an elf to remind Jack instead and to beamingly hand him the snow globe that would take him straight to the North Pole.

It was so proud of itself Jack had to bite back laughter, scooping the little creature up and giving it a ride through the portal back home.

Baby Tooth was at the meeting, hovering excitedly over the table, and she buried herself in Jack's hair as soon as he was clear of the portal, chirping and giggling in excitement. Jack understood maybe one word in five. Baby Tooth didn't seem to mind, just happy that he was willing to pay attention and try to understand her for now.

The meeting was...not what Jack had expected. Each of them spoke briefly about what they'd been doing in the week since they'd seen each other, the amount of work each of them had done to fix things after that eventful weekend. Which he'd expected, he'd just expected more...focus, less listening, less effort in paying attention to what each other said and did.

More importantly, they made an effort to include Jack in the conversations, so he wouldn't feel left out. And though it might have been at least partially a wasted effort as some things were in-jokes honed by knowing each other hundreds of years, he could still see and appreciate it, even if he would almost rather have been able to sit back and just observe.

And he just didn't know what to say. He tried to cover it up, but only speaking to a handful of other spirits randomly throughout the years – because while he was alone, and lonely, he wasn't completely alone, he had some friends – it was different.

But the other, odder part was...suddenly it seemed like they were constantly touching each other.

Not like they had before the fight on Easter, though there had been faint shades of it then. And there was nothing overt about it, really.

It was all just friendly touches, when Jack thought about it as he left the meeting, in high spirits if confused and conflicted (because how long could this last, he should be out of it before it went sour), nothing about them to even really think about or nag at him the way it did.

They'd been friends, teammates, for hundreds of years, of course they were comfortable with each other.

But he still hadn't been expecting, well...Sandy practically draping himself across Bunny when the Easter spirit stretched in front of the fire, finger-combing tangles out of fur.

Or Tooth reaching to touch North's shoulder, or stroke at his hair, or the hugs they all gave each other that seemed to last a few seconds longer than just friends...

But Jack shrugged, finally, dismissing it. They were friends, had been friends for ages, and he was out of practice with touch. He was probably just reading too much into their casual, platonic touching.

Especially since he kind of wanted that for himself. The few friends he had made were mostly tricksters, and you didn't accept a hug from a trickster unless you were willing to deal with the consequences. Most of them weren't big on casual touch anyway.

When they parted, with an agreement to meet again next month, Jack wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed it was over. Because there were four other spirits here, along with elves and yeti, that saw him, heard him, wanted him here.

On the other hand, that much attention was hard to handle after so long on his own, and Jack was about ready to crawl out of his skin.

Tooth went for a hug as they were splitting off to leave, not noticing Jack stiffening in her embrace.

It was just too much, and he was grateful the others went for pats on the shoulder or back instead, since with the way he was feeling, one more touch and he was going to shatter.

* * *

Jack fled as soon as it was over down to Antarctica. It was strange, being down there, knowing the thing he had made with Pitch was still standing, but, well...it was a big continent, and it was empty, save for penguins.

And empty was what he needed right now, after the bright, colorful, happy chaos of North's workshop.

That was going to take a long time to get used to, especially if he kept getting it in something more than tiny doses.

Jack sat in the middle of a snowy plain, watching the snow fly around him in the wind, and wondered how long this was going to last.

Sure, they were being really nice to him now, and paying attention to him and to each other, but how long would that last?

Probably just until they got busy again. Then they'd start skipping meetings, because 'just once won't hurt', or 'I'm so busy, I'll make the next meeting', and then they wouldn't come to any, and they'd all be apart, and he'd be alone again, only it would hurt worse this time because he'd had a taste of what it felt like to be part of a group.

He drew patterns in the snow with his staff, summoning up ice absently. It took shape under his hands as he slid his staff to the crook of his elbow – he hadn't really put it down since Pitch had broken it – and without really thinking about it started forming little statues.

When it was complete, Jack held a small statue of the Guardians, with himself in the middle. He stared at it in consternation. He hadn't meant to form something like this – just something abstract.

If he already cared this much, then it was going to destroy him when they gave up on each other.

No. It was better that he nipped this in the bud right now, before it got too strong.

With that in mind, he sat back and began to plot.

He didn't really want to do this, but...it was better this pain now than the greater pain later.

* * *

Bunny, he'd decided, was going to be the easiest to rile up, and Sandy would probably be the hardest. North and Tooth were a bit more difficult to determine – the best way to get under their skin would be to mess with their jobs, and Jack wasn't willing to go that far.

He wanted them to be irritated and get it all over with, not ruin their belief systems or their work.

...okay, he had an idea for Tooth's that did mess with the teeth collection, but if he pulled it off properly it shouldn't hurt anything. Confuse a lot of people, yes, make them question what was going on, but not actually make them think the Tooth Fairy didn't come.

Rather the opposite, really.

But that one was going to take planning and lots of care to make happen, especially since he had to get it perfect to avoid hurting anything.

Part of him wanted to start with Sandy, but...Sandy had been dead. All right, he got better, but still, sometimes it was still hard to believe and a little tender. He'd give Sandy a little more time.

Which was why he was hovering over North's bed, his face a few inches from the sleeping North's.

He'd been hovering for about fifteen minutes now, and he rather hoped North would wake up soon. Much longer and this was going to go from funny to creepy.

Thankfully, that was the point when North snorted and twitched, obviously waking up.

His eyes cracked open and closed, then flew open as his brain caught up to what his eyes saw.

Jack's grin was this side of manic as he chirped, "Morning North! Time for your daily heart attack!"

Man was North loud when he was surprised. The huge man flailed, and Jack had to shoot up to the ceiling to avoid getting whacked as North's flailing toppled him off the huge bed, and he didn't bother trying to rein in his laughter.

North blinked up at him from where he had fallen half on and half off the bed, still tangled in blankets and sheets and only starting to recover from the shock of a half awake adrenaline surge.

Jack wasn't sure if it was a victory or loss when North started to laugh. On the one hand, well, North thought it was funny. On the other...he was trying to annoy the man, not entertain him.

"Is very funny," North said between chuckles. "Do not need morning coffee now, is for sure."

Jack hid another laugh of his own at that. North pointed at him sternly, looking faintly ridiculous in plaid red and green pajamas and tangled in sheets, yet trying to be taken seriously. "Should be more careful, Jack," he warned. "Are warriors, all of us. A bit out of practice, but still, may react to shocks with swords, if you catch drift."

Jack grinned and shrugged. It wouldn't be the worst reception he'd ever had, and at least these people would be sorry for it afterward. For now, at least.

* * *

North invited him to the have breakfast after he was dressed, and Jack accepted the cocoa, though he wasn't sure about the bacon and eggs just yet.

Amazing enough that his body accepted the cocoa, and Bunny's salad, and though he wanted to try eating the eggs, well...something told him that wasn't such a good idea just yet.

Jack played with his mug as North ate, debating if he should ask about it. On the one hand, well, he wasn't used to confiding such things in anyone...but on the other, he might not have much time to ask anyone who would, or could, answer him.

"Uh, North? I...kind of have a question," Jack said hesitantly. North looked up immediately, mouth too full to ask questions but interest piqued. Jack almost took it back, not wanting to deal with the blow out over the admission of being (mostly) dead all of these years, but North was waiting so eagerly... "Okay, this is going to sound really bad," Jack said instead, to try and soften the blow.

It didn't work. If anything, North looked more concerned now, putting down his knife and fork and turning his full attention onto Jack, brows knitted in worry.

"There's not really any way to say this that isn't awkward," Jack said, "but it's not bad! I think...anyway, well, some things have been changing since I gained believers, personal things, and it was kind of worrying...?"

North waited for Jack to elaborate, filling in when Jack didn't. "Could be because of believers," he said. "Belief, is split between all of us, yes? So lack of belief in one is bolstered by others. And now, also have personal believers, so belief is stronger than just drawing from all. Could be granting personal power, changing things. What things?"

"Ah...well..." Jack hesitated, fiddling with his staff, before deciding to get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid...or at least how he'd heard it was best to do, given as he'd never had a band-aid. "Like going from being mostly dead to living? At least I think that's what's happening..."

North was staring at him in dismay, and Jack trailed off weakly. North opened and closed his mouth a few times before he sighed heavily. "And you did not remember life before being spirit..." he said. "Jack...do you remember now? How you became Jack Frost?"

Jack nodded, hands still tight on his staff, trying to rein in his frost before he could ruin North's table. "Mostly," he said. "It was kind of quick, seeing the memories, but I got the idea. I saved my sister, then I drowned. But I save her! And I got better!" he laughed quickly as North continued to stare in dismay, not noticing the quick Python joke. "You...uh...you didn't?" he asked, more subdued now, clutching his staff tight.

"Ah...no. No, I did not," North said soberly. "But came close!" he added, more brightly. "Would have, if not for Bunny. Has much more training than he lets on. Was still very close call, very close. I am not sure why the moon brought you back," he continued, voice softer than the booming boast it had been, resting a cautious hand on Jack's shoulder, "or even how, but still, am glad that he did. And sorry so much time has been wasted, that could have been put to better use. But! No time for regrets now! You say things are changing?"

"Well, yeah..." Jack said, already regretting this, just a little. He was supposed to be distancing himself from the others, not sharing confidences. Still... "I haven't felt really hungry since I came out of the lake," he said, ignoring the slight wince at the reference to his death. He was sure, sooner or later, it was really going to sink in and he was going to have a nice little breakdown over it, but that was for later. Right now, it still felt like something that had happened to someone else, more distant than the rest of his memories.

"I slept – well, more like I'd pass out every so often, but I don't think I dreamed, or even slept like a normal spirit. I'd find myself wanting food once in awhile but just...little bits. And, well...let's play a game" he said as he grabbed North's hand, pressing it to his chest, and the large man's eyes went wide. "It's called find the heartbeat, but you're going to lose, 'cuz there isn't one."

Jack really wanted to believe the look in North's eyes then, but remembering how quickly they had thought he'd turned on them, and other betrayals before that, kept him from fully relaxing. He was willing to believe North was truly worried and upset, though. "I think...something's changing," he said before North could start talking. "I managed to eat something at Bunny's, and I was even hungry for it. And your yetis insisted on feeding me some soup, too, and I could actually taste it. Really good, by the way. So...?" he left the question hanging and let go of North's hand.

North was slow to remove his hand, almost reluctant, as he straightened. "Could be changing because of belief," he offered. "Until stories are fixed, can cause changes to appearance, sometimes to powers. Is why Tooth is much smaller now than she once was, why many things are as they are. You share in belief now, and have a few of own. Could be this," he gestured to Jack's whole body, "was depowered state, and now are gaining power and will be, um..."

"Not zombie?" Jack joked, ignoring North's wince. He was allowed to make zombie jokes at his own expense. "Why isn't Bunny always small and fluffy then?"

North laughed, head thrown back in true amusement. "Because Bunny is stubborn," he chuckled, patting Jack's shoulder. "Stories and belief affecting us is complicated. Ah, wish Katherine were here. Could explain so well. Is her area of expertise, not mine."

Jack paused, watching North to see if he was going to elaborate, but the huge man simply stared into space for a few moments before sighing heavily. "Ah, am getting old and sentimental," he said. "Will be time for reminiscing and explaining later. Come, we take cocoa and have proper tour of workshop. Did not have time earlier."

There was another pause as Jack wrestled with himself. On the one hand – plan "prank everyone and get it over with" needed moved forward, before he got close. On the other...he really, _really_ wanted to have a good look inside the Workshop.

Curiosity won. After all, if his plan worked, this was going to be Jack's last chance to see inside the Pole. He wasn't going to let this pass him by.

So he followed after North, catching up quickly and walking beside the man as they left the dining room and started on a tour of the living quarters of the Pole.

For some reason, North kept touching his shoulder and back as they walked, but Jack managed to find a reason to duck away before it could become too much. After the fourth or fifth time North seemed to catch this hint and limited his touches to short taps to arm or shoulder rather than the lingering hand it had been.

Jack was a little regretful about that, but...it was just too much, and he wanted to see the Workshop and Pole, not be overwhelmed with touch. The short touches he could handle. Maybe he could work his way up to the longer ones...no. No, working his way up to handling touch would lead to craving touch, and when he didn't have it anymore, it would hurt so much worse. Enjoy it while it lasted, but don't get used to it.

The yeti eyed them oddly when they left the private areas and walked through the Workshop proper – those that weren't so absorbed in their work that they didn't even notice, that is.

* * *

The Workshop was so big that, despite their intentions, North wasn't able to show Jack all of it before he was being tracked down, a reminder to eat and take care of the few things that needed his attention on a daily basis.

The fact that he kept getting as excited as Jack and so the tour kept stopping while they explored something in more depth didn't help matters any, either.

The yeti reminder brought things crashing back down for Jack, reminding him that he was on borrowed time, even if the other Guardians might have been honestly trying to make things work.

And it reminded him of his plan, which had gone severely off course. Which all meant that when North offered to have him stay, to see if he could eat and continue the tour after he finished these few things, Jack reluctantly turned him down.

North sighed heavily. "You will come back, then? Finish tour then?" he asked hopefully, and, well, Jack couldn't say no to that.

Even if he wasn't sure how long the invite was going to last.

Still, North was beaming now, and so Jack left the Pole with his plan firmly in mind, if reluctant to proceed.

* * *

A/N: I don't believe I ever mentioned that this is slow burn, did I? Because this is really, really slow burn. I hope ya'll will stick with me anyway, in the hopes I make it pay off. :)


	9. Chapter 9

The next week saw Jack visit the other Guardians with similar plots in mind. Tooth and Bunny, both survivors of more things than Jack had any concept of, didn't quite react as well as North did to finding him hovering overhead when they woke up.

That is to say, Jack was lucky he didn't have a few accidental, Guardian-inflicted injuries from the two of them, though he was able to acknowledge they wouldn't have meant to hurt him.

Sandy, on the other hand, had only blinked at him a few times with barely open eyes before smiling sleepily and rolling back over, snagging Jack on the roll and burrowing down with the frost spirit like he'd found a new plush toy.

All Jack's wriggling couldn't get him loose from the Sandman's surprisingly powerful grip, and all the Dreamsand around them was working against him, so Jack gave up on the failed prank and settled down for a proper nap.

Sandy was just as nice to cuddle as Jack had thought he'd be. Maybe even better. He smelled like vanilla and was soft and cuddly in the best way.

Jack was going to miss that when it all went away. At least he got one taste of it.

* * *

Jack knew what kind of reputation he had with most spirits. Flighty, irresponsible, with only other seasonals knowing just how much power he actually had and how much responsibility he technically had. (He was all about no rules and fun, after all, so it rather irritated him that he did have things to do, but that was life.)

Usually Jack was pretty indifferent to his reputation, or irritated with it since it was (mostly) undeserved and kept him from getting involved in things.

On the other hand, it kept him from getting involved in things, unless he chose to pull rank.

But right now...he was using it to his full advantage. Everyone thought he was an irredeemable, irresponsible prankster? Fine. Then the other Guardians wouldn't question the rash of pranks he was pulling...or the fact that some of them weren't very kind. He didn't really like pulling _that_ kind of prank, but, well, desperate times.

About two months into his prank war – and this one was a real war in his eyes, it certainly was ripping his heart apart like one, despite the occasional entertainment that was offered when he did a prank that would have been fun in other circumstances – Jack paused on a power line, looking up at the moon.

For a few seconds, he was tempted to make a very rude gesture towards it, and the man he now knew was living on it. After a quick look to make sure no kids could see him, he gave in to the urge.

Three hundred years, and the man couldn't even try to communicate with someone? Anyone? Jack grumbled as he pushed off the power line, landing lightly atop a nearby building.

North had mentioned some kind of Lunar Lamidery that had a mirror that could communicate with Mim. Even if it was difficult, he couldn't send even a brief message to the people to pass on to someone? _Dragged dead kid out of lake. Has ice powers now. Go check on him._ Or something like that. Anything.

But no, nope, let's just leave Jack alone. He'll figure things out on his own, no reason to explain anything to him. Because that worked out _so_ well.

Jack leaned on his staff, suddenly tired down to his bones. With a sigh he slipped to sit on the edge of the building's roof, letting a foot dangle over the edge as he looked sightlessly over the town. Maybe...maybe he was the problem. Maybe that was why Mim never told anyone about him.

Curling up tighter and drawing up his hood, Jack decided that was probably the reason. He wouldn't want to tell others about a failure like him, either.

* * *

"I'm going to be honest, mates, I dunno how much longer I can take this," Bunny confessed, slumping back onto his heels and crossing his arms, ears drooping. "Th' frostbite just won't let up."

Tooth was flitting from spot to spot, too upset to hover in one place. "I hate to agree, but Bunny might be right," she fretted. "Jack gave my girls caffeine. Chocolate covered coffee beans. And swapped all the coins so kids were getting the wrong currency."

Sandy sent up a flurry of symbols, grinning, and Tooth bit back a laugh. "Well yes, the girls were fine, and I suppose it does help with the belief, but still, it was a lot of work to sort it back out."

Another flurry, and, "Okay, maybe it's a little funny now. And it all worked out. But still!"

"Is like he wants us to kick him out," North grumped, slumping into his chair.

Sandy shot up, nodding his head.

"It doesn't...I thought he wanted to be one of us, after we talked about things," Tooth said sadly. Sandy tried to get her attention, but now all three other Guardians were too upset to notice.

"Maybe it was a mistake after all..." Bunny said softly, regretfully. Of them all, he'd been trying hardest to undo what he'd thought of Jack before Guardianship, but now...after all these pranks, after Jack constantly pushing them away...

Sand steam blowing out his ears, Sandy decided it was time to take drastic measures before things could get worse.

He grabbed an elf, shaking it so it's bell would grab their attention. Three sets of eyes turned to him, and he tried to explain, but...

"Do not understand, Sandy," North complained finally, after a good five minutes of attempted sand explanations.

That was it. An eyeroll, a quick swirl of dreamsand, and Sandy formed the dream.

Three shots later and three Guardians were laid out, caught in Sandy's message. If he couldn't get them to understand while conscious, then he'd do it this way.

It wasn't perfect – dreams could go out of control easily – but with Sandy literally hovering over their heads to make sure they got his message, the dream stayed on track with few diversions, lucid and clear to the dreamers.

 _Jack has been alone a very long time,_ Sandy 'said' in his images, clearer in sleeping minds that could 'hear' him. _Everyone wants him to leave. No one wants him to stay. They want to use him, and he thinks we're the same. He's been used before and thrown away when they got what they wanted from him. He thinks no one could want him. He was so 'good' to make us let him stay. Now he's testing us. So it will hurt less when we force him to leave._

 _And we're failing him. And proving his fears right._

Sandy kept replaying the dream until he was sure they'd each understood what he was trying to say.

Then he settled back with some cocoa to let them sleep a little longer. They worked too hard, they needed a nap.

* * *

Jack returned to the Pole before the others woke from their impromptu nap. He had about two seconds on floating into the room to see them all lying in a heap on the floor, curled around and on top of each other, before a rope of dreamsand came sneaking out of the pile.

Jack dodged, but even half asleep Sandy was deceptively fast, and Jack's startled and instinctive attempt to freeze the sand only made it pretty.

He hit the floor, the blow softened by cushions, giving Sandy a dirty look when the small man poked his head out of the middle of the pile, looking entirely too satisfied with himself before hauling Jack hand over hand into the pile.

* * *

Bunny was the first to wake. With his holiday over for the year, Jack's pranks had been getting under his skin, but not leaving him stressed the way they had Tooth and, after much prodding and a few (minor) explosions, North, so he wasn't quite as in need of sleep as they were.

He wasn't expecting to find himself face to face with Jack, though that had been happening surprisingly often as of late. He smelled the dreamsand before he saw it, vanilla and salt and glitter (don't ask him what glitter smelled like, he gave up an hour into trying to explain it to North. It sparkled, was about the best he could explain.).

Bunny smirked at little at the mildly disgruntled and pouting Jack. "Hey there, ya hoon," he said. "Since you're all tied up there, think there's a talk we need to have once everyone's awake."

Jack went pale, and he flinched, a tiny little recoil that a less observant audience would have missed. Then the grin was back, the one that had fooled all of them until Sandy gave them the equivalent of a clue-by-four to the head.

"An' we ain't kickin' you out, so you kin drop the act," Bunny warned as Jack started a smart ass remark.

Whatever Jack had intended to say what gone as he sat slack jawed and blinking for a few seconds. Bunny smirked, enjoying the small moment of victory even as Jack rallied.

Jack ducked his head, looking up at Bunny through his bangs. "Aw, I don't know what you're talking about, Sir Fluffykins," he said.

Bunny rolled his eyes, easing himself out from under North's heavy arm. North snorted in his sleep, groping for the missing Pooka. His reaching hand found Tooth instead, and she curled up into his side when he tugged her closer.

Bunny paused to smile at them softly before turning his attention back to Jack. "Ah should probably be waiting for the others to wake up," he said, still quiet so he wouldn't wake them, "but they're pretty worn out. Had a lot to deal with lately, ya ken?"

Jack had the grace to look a bit abashed, though he hid it well. Still... "Been playing the show pony a lot lately, eh mate? Sandy clued us in already, Snowflake."

"Aw, you don't like my pranks?" Jack said mockingly. "I thought you knew what you were getting when you asked Jack Frost to join you."

Bunny's ears tilted in aggression, hands to hips in the humanish body language he'd learned over the years. "Don't start that, ya gumby," he said firmly. "Yer pranks aren't mean, an' these have been." He paused to sigh and rub the bridge of his nose. "Look, I get it. We bought the reputation an' listened to th' gossip. We were wrong."

Jack poked him on the nose...and when had the gumby gotten loose from the dreamsand?...and smirked. "Or maybe you were right. Not falling for it, Cottontail. Bye!" he chirped, and flittered out the window before Bunny had finished sneezing off the frost Jack had tipped his nose with.

He turned from looking sadly out the open window at the soft noise behind him and met Tooth's eyes. "I'd hoped it would be that easy, too," she said softly.

"Well, I ain't givin' up yet," Bunny said firmly, crossing his arms and tapping one foot in quick rhythm. "Just gonna be harder than we thought."

* * *

A/N: Didn't really think it'd be that easy, did you, Bunny? Also,I think glitter would smell like Fizzy Pop incense. It...sparkles and pops in your nose, as I said in fic. It's nice. Almost like when you eat pop rocks in scent form. It's made by Wild Berry Incense.


	10. Chapter 10

As it turned out, 'harder than they thought' was much, much harder than they'd ever imagined. As the months ticked by, they all had to question at one time or another if they were really doing the right thing...

It was usually that thought that made them work harder. If the way Jack was behaving was any hint, then this wasn't the first time someone had tried to get close and either used him or given up on him, and they weren't going to do that to him.

Not to mention, they were getting glimpses of the real Jack behind the mask he was trying so hard to keep in place, and they liked what they saw.

Trying to reconnect with each other was still a priority, and they wondered sometimes if Jack suspected something, with all the times he wandered in and found them together. They weren't doing anything friends wouldn't do...okay, well, really close friends who liked a lot of physical contact, but still.

Every so often they would catch Jack watching them, trying to pretend he wasn't, but he was still hesitant about accepting affection or contact. He would start to lean into a pat or a touch, only to freeze up and jerk away seconds later.

It was frustrating, even as they tried not to press for more. If Jack wasn't ready, then they needed to respect that.

As if in response to Bunny's little talk, Jack was upping the annoyance factor. If they'd thought the pranks were bad, they were almost nothing compared to his behavior now.

From hanging constantly in their space, to incessant chatter, to irritating little habits that they all knew Jack hadn't had before this, if Jack had been trying to irritate them into giving up on him before, he was doing a much better job of it now.

Only Sandy really had patience to spare, and even his was a little strained by the end of another month of Jack's deliberate irritations.

The other three were holding on to their tempers by threads at times, and only their weekly after meetings after Jack had left the proper meeting really helped as they talked things through, found the common thread in the irritations Jack was heaping upon them.

And more importantly, the threads in the things he didn't say, the moments he let his guard down and they saw the longing behind the irritations and annoying behavior, the Jack Frost they had gotten to see that weekend they'd all met him properly for the first time.

The problem with threads is, eventually, they snap. And sometimes, it's hard to tell just what the breaking point is going to be – or how harsh the backlash will be when it finally goes.

And the Guardians knew it, too. They didn't want to admit it, but they knew it, had had it happen before and paid the consequences for it then.

Sandy was dealing with it the best so far – but then again, he had a good reason to fly off when Jack really started getting annoying, since Jack still refused to interfere with the Guardians' duties. Make them more difficult, yes, confuse everyone with things like mixed-up coins very yes, but actually interfere, no.

It also helped that a good dash of dream sand to the face would put even a hyperactive spirit like Jack, who by his own admission only slept when he was exhausted, down for the count for awhile.

Things couldn't keep going this way, but none of them had a clue what to do to fix this anymore.

Bunny knew that, out of all of them, he had the shortest temper now that he had given in to emotions, and he was the worst of them when it came to understanding emotions and understanding the hints others gave in their body language and voices that most humans took for granted.

But even he could tell things were getting close to a breaking point. And Jack was probably going to be the first to snap, somehow.

He didn't think the others had noticed yet, but, well...Jack had taken to hanging out in the Warren quite a bit lately. If he had to guess...and if he was honest, that was all he could do at this point...then Bunny assumed Jack was hanging out there for a number of reasons.

It was summer in the Northern Hemisphere again, a little over a year after Jack had been sworn in. Jack had all but disappeared during the fall and winter, claiming work but being evasive about just what that work involved, and they hadn't felt secure enough to press the question despite burning curiosity.

He hadn't interfered with Christmas or Easter, though, and although the pranks had continued every time they saw the frost spirit, he still didn't mess with their jobs.

Now that Easter was over, and Jack wasn't needed in the Southern Hemisphere for their winter season, he was apparently at loose ends, and as Bunny's holiday prep didn't start in earnest until closer to the day of (though the Warren, being a garden, needed almost constant attention) he had apparently been selected as Jack's preferred company.

Bunny suspected Jack thought he would snap first. Really, he couldn't blame Jack for that – the two of them did have the most history between them, if a few encounters could really be called 'a history'. And Jack had managed to get on his nerves quickly before, and if it weren't so bloody annoying he would have given Frost points for strategy.

It seemed like Frost had a mind under all that 'good times' silliness. Too bad he was using it to drive them all bloody starkers.

As if the thought had inspired Jack to new mischief, a snowball hit the back of Bunny's head.

Bunny took a deep breath, biting back the nasty words that tried to rise. They would have felt good in the moment, but driving Jack away was the opposite of what he wanted to do.

Heck, he hadn't even considered trying to start courting Jack yet, none of them had. They couldn't, not when Jack was still acting like this and so obviously insecure, though they'd been blind to it at first.

There was a blast of cold wind, ruffling his fur and sneaking under it, straight to the skin, making Bunny yelp and jump...and snap.

He spun to find Jack as soon as he hit the ground, ears laid back and totally, utterly done. "Jack Frost!" he snapped. Jack froze, eyes wide, clearly torn between fear and resignation, as if he'd been expecting this but still wasn't happy it was happening. "Would ya knock it off already, ya bloody show pony? We're all stickin' this out an' you're makin' it hard on purpose! How're we supposed ta get to know ya if ya keep tryin' ta make us drive ya away, ya bloody show pony? Well, ya ain't gettin' rid of us that easy! Now make yerself useful an' come burn off some o' that energy on these weeds, if you're gonna be a deliberate nuisance."

Bunny was panting a little as he finished his rant, paws firmly planted on hips as he glared at the frost spirit.

Jack, for his part, was staring at Bunny as if he'd never seen the older spirit before. "I...that's it? You're...not kicking me out? You're not...you aren't even gonna try and hit me? What is it going to take, huh?" he demanded, flailing and getting louder and louder, more upset with each word. "I'm just supposed to wait around and, and get attached, and wait while everyone pretends to be my friend? How long is that gonna take, until I've outlived my usefulness and you kick me out?" He had to take a few deep breaths at that point, Bunny too shocked to do much more that gape. Jack scrubbed an arm across his eyes furiously, refusing to cry now. "I'm not...I can't..."

"Jack, I..." Bunny faltered, taking a step towards the suddenly distraught spirit. Jack didn't notice, too busy scrubbing at his eyes and fighting to breathe.

"No one wants Jack Frost," Jack whispered, so quiet that anyone other than Bunny might not have heard him. "He's just an expression. Only good for freezing water pipes and ruining everything. Not even the Moon wanted me, and he brought be back and gave me powers. Why? So I could be alone and unwanted for three hundred years? I'm so tired of all this, and I can't keep this up much longer but I can't get thrown away again, I just can't."

A furry hand fisted the front of Jack's sweatshirt, and he yelped. He tried to pull away but was yanked, hard, forward instead, faceplanting into Bunny's chest.

Then Bunny's arms were wrapped tight around Jack, warm and strong and all soft fur and firm muscle and so, so warm.

Jack struggled for a few seconds before he just sank into that fur, too tired to fight anymore.

"Jack, I meant it when ah said we weren't givin' up on ya. Don't ya remember tha?" Bunny asked softly.

Jack shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time someone's lied to my face," he muttered into Bunny's fur. Bunny bit back a surge of anger and tried not to tighten his grip on Jack. He didn't quite succeed, but Jack didn't seem to mind. "I..." he sighed, heavily, as if he were searching for the words.

"Kinda quit trustin' folks to hold to their word," Bunny finished for him. "An' then there's me with the grudge, and us needin' ya, so ya figured we'd say anythin'."

"I'm Jack Frost," Jack said again. "I... _No one_ wants Jack Frost," he repeated, sounding utterly lost, and the fur on Bunny's chest was slowly growing wet, to his absolute shock.

He'd seen Jack tear up, but Jack didn't cry. Ever. Jack held back the tears and kept himself looking strong on the outside, that much Bunny had learned.

At the moment, he doubted Jack would hear anything Bunny was saying, so he settled for stroking Jack's hair and murmuring soothing nonsense.

He wasn't _good_ at this comforting thing, damn it, but none of them really were anymore. So he just kept holding on to Jack and stroking his hair, hoping and praying to El-ahairah it was helping.

Slowly the sobs began to stop. When they were down to sniffles Jack moved to pull away, leaning back to swab at his eyes. Bunny winced, seeing the frost and ice covered sleeve Jack was rubbing across his face, and reluctantly let go of Jack with one hand.

Jack seemed abashed at his display and ready to run, sure Bunny was about to reject him, yet paused to watch as Bunny rummaged through his bandoleer.

The Pooka produced a large bandana with a flourish when he finally found it, the pocket it had been in having managed to go stiff. A reminder of how little care he'd been taking of himself in recent years, that the leather would have started to go bad like that.

The little flourish made Jack give a watery chuckle, and he accepted the bandana to scrub his face with.

"Let's go inside and talk, yeah?" Bunny suggested, already guiding Jack toward the burrow. "We can have some tea and do a proper chin wag this time."

Jack squinted at him out of the corner of a red-rimmed eye. "Sometimes, I swear you're just making these words up..." he said.

Bunny smiled. "Ain't tellin'," he teased, testing the waters. "C'mon, that tea sounds good 'bout now, an' we got better things to talk about than my accent. Tea's always helpful after a good cry."


	11. Chapter 11

Jack seemed to calm a bit as he had that long talk with Bunny. It went on into the night, through tea and supper and long past midnight, on until nearly dawn.

This time, though, perhaps because of the crying jag, perhaps because Bunny had let him cry all over him and comforted him instead of pushing away, perhaps because the Guardians had stuck with him through all his trying to force them away the way they'd said they would, Jack actually talked – as did Bunny.

Neither of them was good with the emotions thing, with the talking things out, and both had a tendency towards holding a grudge, but they were both trying.

Which was probably how they'd managed to have such a long, serious conversation without exploding at each other or poking too forcefully at half healed wounds.

And because they were being open about all of these things (save the fact that, though he didn't realize it yet, Jack had been married to them all for a little over a year now without even knowing that was an option), Bunny felt obligated to let Jack know that he'd be talking about this with the other Guardians, unless Jack asked him not to.

Because there were lines, and already it was obvious that until everything had been laid out clearly, everyone was going to have to be very, very careful about just where those lines were.

And, he didn't think Jack knew he'd noticed, but Jack had eaten like someone who could barely believe he was being given food, cautious as if he expected it to rebel against him at any moment, and Bunny wasn't quite sure what to make of that. He hadn't found the moment to bring it up, though, and now wasn't the time either.

But he was going to be bringing that up at the meeting, too.

Jack kept sneaking glances at Bunny before he left, and Bunny hoped he was reading Jack right when he offered a hug.

It seemed he was right, as Jack clung tight...but for a much shorter time than Bunny had expected, but it was still a hug, one freely accepted where before Jack would skitter away from touch, afraid to get too close. Jack pulled away quick, face flushed with both blush and frost, and looked away from Bunny awkwardly.

Before last night, Bunny might have let it drop, so he wouldn't upset Jack, but, well...better to bring these things up now, the way they'd been talking about all night.

"Okay, Jackie – spill," Bunny said, planting paws on hips, unconsciously mimicking himself from the night before. "What's...ah."

Jack paused and pointed his staff at Bunny. "No. Whatever you're thinking, just...no. No," he scolded, but he was trying not to laugh as he said it, still blushing frost.

"Yes," Bunny said, smirking, though it was soft. "Yes, just yes." He gave himself a shake, debating coming out and asking Jack if his idea was right. That Jack was craving physical contact...and also dreading it and unable to handle it yet.

It was obvious enough, and Jack embarrassed enough, that Bunny decided they'd both had enough heartfelt talk for the moment. He'd bring it up with the others, and they'd go from there.

"Right then," he said instead. "We'll be seeing you at the meeting, then? An' don't forget, you said you'd check in with th' others before that."

"Figures you'd remember," Jack said with a huff, slinging the crook over his shoulders. "But yeah, fine. I'll do it." The smile took the sting out of his words.

Bunny let it drop and watched with a wave as Jack flew off. Jack had promised, and while Jack may try to wiggle out of giving promises, so far he'd proven that once he'd promised, he'd do it.

As for Bunny, he wanted to write some of this down now, while it was still fresh, so he could talk to the other Guardians about it when their next post-meeting Jack Talk happened.

Jack hovered outside the range of the Tooth Palace, looking down at it hesitantly. He was pretty sure Tooth thought the heat around her palace made him uncomfortable, and that he could only visit for a little while each time.

Well, the joke was on Tooth. It was dry heat that got to him. Wet, humid heat like this gave him moisture in the air to work with, that went cold when it came near him and kept him chill.

It was actually rather comfortable.

But thinking about the heat and its effects on him were just him stalling, and Jack knew it.

Hopefully Tooth wasn't too mad about some of his pranks. He'd tried not to interfere with her job (okay, except for that one, but they'd all gotten a surge of fresh belief from that, what with all the kids knowing their parents wouldn't have been able to give them those coins, it was no worse than what had happened Easter before last with the elves and the trees and all the rest of it) so maybe...

A small pack of passing baby teeth made up Jack's mind for him, swarming the frost spirit and chittering happily. Jack laughed, unable to stay worried when he had Baby Teeth clustered around him.

The girls couldn't stay, each carrying a precious tooth that needed to be placed in its box. They did, however, accept a ride to the palace clinging to Jack's hoodie.

Not that it was a long ride, but still.

The girls were off as soon as he touched down, chirping their thank yous and goodbyes over their shoulders as they hurried to make their precious cargo safe.

Baby Tooth saw Jack and zipped down as he started walking towards the central hub, where all the other Baby Teeth were swarming about, moving so fast they were little more than blurs of color.

She hovered in front of his face, chattering a mile a minute. Jack didn't have as much time with the baby teeth as he'd like, so he was still having some trouble understanding everything Baby Tooth was saying to him.

He caught enough to get the gist of it, though. Irritation with the meaner pranks Jack had pulled lately, concern over why he was pulling them and over Jack in general, worry that he didn't like them anymore.

Jack was already cradling Baby Tooth in gentle hands when she started peeping in distress, hurrying off to the side where they'd have a little privacy. He was frosting over hard with his own distress, frightened and careful not to let any touch the tiny fairy in his hands.

"Baby Tooth, please calm down! C'mon, please? I'm sorry about the pranks, I was coming to apologize!" Jack babbled, holding Baby Tooth close. When she didn't seem ready to calm he dropped a kiss on her head, gentle as possible so he wouldn't give her frost, before cuddling her against his cheek.

He kept cuddling her and murmuring nonsense until Baby Tooth began to calm down. Calmer himself now, Jack lowered his hands so Baby Tooth was nestled against his chest, so it was easier to talk to her.

"I really did come to apologize...for the meaner pranks, at least," Jack said, running a gentle finger over Baby Tooth's head. "I...guess I have more issues than we realized."

Baby Tooth chirped up at Jack, questioning and encouraging, bringing a smile to his face. "Yeah, I kind of expected everyone to drop me and I just wanted to get it over with," he admitted.

Baby Tooth's response to that was immediate and indignant. Very indignant.

Jack chuckled and took the scolding, which thankfully was fairly short and concluded with Baby Tooth rubbing her head against his cheek, the closest she could get to giving him a hug.

Jack gave a little sigh and patted Baby Tooth on the head again. "I should probably go find your Mama," he said. "Before I lose my nerve."

Baby Tooth chirped again, encouraging and hopeful, and letting Jack know that Tooth was letting her, Baby Tooth, be in charge sometimes now, so she could get him some more time, since Tooth wouldn't have to worry about hurrying back to work.

"That's great, Baby Tooth!" Jack said, honestly happy for her. "I, um, may have something for you and your sisters, later, if the talk with Tooth goes well," he added, suddenly feeling shy about it. "If your Mama says it's okay. It just didn't feel right when...well. Yeah."

Baby Tooth chirped out an answer, saddened at the why for Jack holding back from them, yet eager to find out just what present Jack had for them.

She fluttered out of Jack's hands, tugging on his hoodie strings to get him moving, making Jack laugh. "All right, all right, I'm going," he said, following the eager fairy towards where Tooth was directing her fairies.

He paused outside the central hub, watching the buzz of motion, and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes...everything," he muttered, before kicking off the ground to hover where Tooth could see him.

Tooth had been happy, if a little cautious, to see Jack. He didn't blame her for the caution after all his pranks, even if it did hurt, just a little, to see that flash of worry in her eyes.

Even if the prankster in him enjoyed it the tiniest bit, it wasn't enough to balance the hurt, when the hurt was from so many others with no reason to dislike or be cautious of him hiding caution when he came near them.

The Guardians weren't like that, Jack reminded himself, remembering his talk with Bunny. He could do this, he had to talk to Tooth and clear this all up.

At least Tooth believed him when he promised there were no pranks this time, and that he needed to talk to her. It soothed the small hurt, and made it easier to follow Tooth deeper into the palace, leaving Baby Tooth in charge, with a promise from the little fairy to send another to come get Tooth if something began to go wrong.

There was a somewhat awkward silence as Tooth prepared tea for them both, broken when she suddenly paused, setting down the pot and her hands fluttering as she spoke.

"Oh goodness, I didn't think...this is hot, can you even have hot things? I'm so sorry, I never even thought...I don't think I've even seen you eat, oh goodness we've known you a year now and I don't even..."

"It's okay, Tooth," Jack said in a hurry, cutting off Tooth, who was working herself up. "I...should probably talk to all of you about that, too," he said, anxiously rubbing his hands over his staff. "I did a little with North when we first...but he promised he wouldn't talk about it so...yeah. But hot things don't bother me, it's the dry heat that does, tea's great, I just had some with Bunny."

Tooth took a deep breath and picked up the teapot again, the motions of making and serving tea seeming to soothe her. "You visited Bunny?" she asked, and Jack hated how hard she was trying to be casual.

"I...yeah. And we talked. And...turns out there's some things I have to talk to you about." Jack took another deep breath, trying to pull back his frost as he frosted the cushion he was sitting on in nerves and he felt it trying to stretch beyond that. "I...think it might help if you let me get it all out before you say anything. Okay? So I was visiting Bunny as part of my 'get it over with plan'..."

The tea had gone cold by the time Jack was done. He told Tooth everything he had told Bunny, including why he'd finally broken and talked to Bunny, and it wasn't easier a second time. Jack could see Tooth about to speak more than once, but she managed to bite back the words after a pleading glance. If he was interrupted this time, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep going. He might let himself be drawn into a side track, like he had with Bunny, and he just wasn't up for that.

Finally he finished, looking down at his now-cold tea, unwilling to look up and see the disappointment on Tooth's face. Bunny may have taken it well, but that didn't mean...

There was a light touch to Jack's shoulder, feather light but still there, and Jack glanced up to see Tooth watching him with worry written clearly on her face.

"Jack, can I hug you?" she asked. Stunned that she would ask, even after hearing all the problems Jack had with touch and trust, he nodded dumbly.

Her arms slipped around him and he clutched back, desperate for the touch yet knowing it would be overwhelming soon, so he wanted to get a taste of it quickly.

Tooth's hug was very, very different from Bunny's, but they both were solid and reassuring, like a balm, a promise that they weren't giving up despite everything...and this time, Jack thought he might be able to believe that promise.

Jack wanted to hold on, but he couldn't breathe properly, had to get away, could feel the panic trying to set in, so he reluctantly pulled away.

He could feel Tooth's reluctance to let go, but she returned to her side of the table without a word. She picked up Jack's teacup, carefully topping it off with hot tea and handing it back.

Finally she sighed. "Well, that explains a lot," she said softly. "Thank you, Jack, for trusting me enough to tell me all this."

"Took me long enough," Jack said sourly, frost creeping up the sides of his cup. He frowned at it, pulling back his frost sharply.

"Jack, we left you alone for three hundred years," Tooth said. "It's going to take more than a year to heal from that. We thought you might be trying to push us away, but I know I, at least, thought that maybe you just didn't want a relationship with us and were trying to get rid of us."

"No!" Jack blurted out, tea spilling as he jerked to look at Tooth, eyes wide and a myriad of emotions behind them. "It's not – I didn't...you didn't leave your palace for longer than I've been alive, it's wasn't that...well, mostly it wasn't that, I..."

"Jack, it's okay," Tooth said, reaching out as if to pat Jack's hand. She hesitated when Jack flinched. He glanced between her face and hand and gave a miniscule nod, and Tooth took that as permission to pat his hand gently before pulling back.

"It really is okay," she continued. "No, listen," she said when he began to shake his head. "You aren't the only Guardian with issues. You don't live as long as we do without picking up a few problems and traumas along the way." Tooth smiled down into her tea, as if looking at memories swirling in the dark brew, and her smile was both fond and bitter. "There's...downsides to immortality and power. Not that being helpless is exactly fun either..."

Tooth gave herself a little shake, feathers fluffing out and settling back into place. "Well, that's a talk for another day. I just want you to remember, Jack – you aren't alone anymore. We weren't there before, but we are now. I hope you'll feel able to talk to us about these things, instead of assuming how we're going to react and pulling elaborate pranks to get us to drop you."

The look Tooth gave Jack at that was Sahara dry, and he chuckled. "Hey, some of those were funny and you know it," he said, brushing it off, and Tooth cracked a smile in return. "But...you can't really blame me for thinking it," he added, a lot softer. "It wouldn't be the first time someone only wanted me around for a little while..."

"Jack, who..." Tooth asked, reaching for Jack again, but stopping with her hand outstretched, with Jack's admittance of still being a bit touch-shy even as he craved it on her mind, something he had meant to tell Bunny but had gotten distracted from during one of their many sidetracks, yet still the Pooka had seemed to pick up on it in the end.

Jack took a deep drink of his tea and made himself reach out for Tooth's hand, holding it briefly. "No, Tooth, I..."

"Jack, please, no more secrets," she asked quietly. Jack slumped.

"I...okay, just...can it wait? A little longer. Please. I don't want you rushing after spirits because of something that happened in the past. And I'm not sure how much more emotional stuff I can do today, especially since I have to do this two more times."

Tooth didn't seem happy about Jack's answer, but she accepted it, and seemed to understand. She sipped at her tea again, more to buy time than out of thirst, watching Jack out of the corner of her eyes.

"So...no more pranks then?" she asked, laughter in her voice.

"I wouldn't say _that,_ " he answered, grinning behind his own teacup, and Tooth laughed. "You did invite Jack Frost in."


	12. Chapter 12

Sandy was hovering above the ocean when Jack finally found him. Sandy, who'd apparently been napping, opened a sleepy eye as Jack came near and patted the sand of his cloud, inviting Jack to join him.

"Surprised you'd want me on there, after the last few months," Jack said softly as he settled on the dream sand. Sandy opened both eyes at that, looking at Jack quizzically.

"Yeah, um...I have a couple of things to tell you," Jack admitted, taking another deep breath before launching into his story a third time.

Sandy listened attentively, sitting next to Jack on the cloud and letting him get the whole thing out. By the time Jack had finished, they were coming close to a city.

Sandy patted Jack's hand, pointing towards the city, and Jack wiped at his eyes. "Yeah, do your thing," he said, still scrubbing at his face.

A rope of dreamsand snuck around around Jack's waist, tugging him back down to the cloud when he started to stand. Jack looked up at Sandy in shock, to see him form shapes in dreamsand that were pretty easy to interpret.

 _Stay put. We're not done._

The rope dissolved when Jack nodded, curling around his staff. Sandy smiled at him reassuringly before turning to send out dreams.

An extra stream wound towards Jack, and with a fond smile he reached out to run his hands through the stream the way he had on so many lonely nights.

Maybe it was an accident, maybe it was Jack's already fragile emotional state from going through his story three times in a row and knowing there was another ahead of him, but whatever the reason, when Jack's fingers brushed through the sand they left a trail of frost in their wake.

The dolphin that formed from the sand wore the frost in a delicate tracery over its body, jumping and dancing in the air as Jack panicked.

Sandy turned, attention drawn by Jack's startled flailing. An exclamation point appeared over his head and he reached for the dolphin, still twirling happily just out of Jack's reach.

Sandy paused in his chase of the dolphin to pat Jack on the head, waiting until Jack looked at him to send up sand symbols to try and explain that he wasn't upset, just curious.

Jack didn't look fully convinced but he did take a few deep breaths, willing himself to calm down as Sandy gently netted the dolphin.

Once Sandy had the dolphin in his hands, curiosity won over worry and Jack scrambled over the cloud for a closer look.

"That's never happened before," he muttered as he and Sandy examined the sand and frost creation. "I've got better control over my frost than that."

Sandy gave it a little poke, peering closely at it, and a lightbulb appeared over his head. The flurry of symbols over his head were fast, too fast for Jack to follow despite a year's practice as Sandy 'spoke' faster and faster in his excitement.

Reassured by the cheerful images and beaming smile on Sandy's face, Jack laughed. "Hey, slow down, would you? I can't understand you when you go that fast."

Sandy was still dancing lightly in place, letting the dolphin slide into Jack's hands as he repeated himself, slower this time. Snowflakes and dream sand swirled past, Jack's eyes widening as he took in just what Sandy was saying, looking between the dream weaver and the dolphin in his arms in wonder.

 _It's a dream, mixed with the fun of a snow day_ , Sandy was signing. _A dream that's lighter and happier than my usual dreams, more FUN, but calmer than your usual happy flakes. A child will be lucky to get this dream, there are so many children who need a dream like this!_

Jack smiled down at the dream in his hands, feeling the first flutters of excitement. Sandy was still a-flutter, more excited than Jack had seen him since the whole swearing-in ceremony.

Suddenly small, warm hands were cupping his face, tilting it to look at Sandy and his signs instead of the dream he held.

 _You see? You do belong with us,_ Sandy 'said'. _Look at what we can do together._

"Pitch said something like that," Jack muttered sourly, surprised when Sandy kept smiling, though it was a little more sad now.

 _Pitch sometimes has good ideas, but they get twisted. He goes too big, and too dramatic,_ Sandy commented through a complex series of signs. _Fear and fun can go well together at times, though I doubt that's what he meant at that moment. A horror movie, or Halloween. But we like you for you, Jack. Even if you have been driving us mad lately. We want you to stay._

Jack chuckled, pulling his head away from the wanted yet slowly overwhelming touch. Sandy let him go, watching anxiously, and Jack smiled at him again.

"So...you want to try this again sometime, on purpose?" Jack offered, and Sandy beamed.

Jack released the dolphin, who did a few flips. "Well, make sure someone who needs this one gets her, huh Sandy? I still have to talk with North, if I start making dreams with you I'll put it off for too long."

The look Sandy gave him was far too knowing, and Jack dipped his head with a chuckle. "Yeah, okay, I get it," he laughed, glancing up at Sandy from under his bangs.

Sandy crossed his arms and tapped one tiny foot, pointing firmly towards the Pole, but the stern effect was spoiled by the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Right, right, I'm going," Jack said, pushing off the cloud. He hesitated before darting back and giving Sandy a brief, hard hug. "Still really glad you didn't really die," he murmured in the startled dream weaver's ear.

He was back in the air and calling on the wind before Sandy could react, shooting off towards the Pole and disappearing rapidly.

Sandy stared after him for a few seconds, frozen, before giving himself a little shake. Still silently chuckling and relieved, he started sending dreams out again, making sure his cautiously hopeful thoughts were kept away from the dreams.

He did let the hope itself go through, though. So long as he didn't let slip just what he was hopeful about, well, no reason to keep it locked to himself.

* * *

Jack hesitated outside the balcony built onto one of the sides of the Pole. It was a new addition, only finished about a month ago. The yeti had exacting standards as a rule, but when it came to adding on to their home, the standards were only higher.

It was silly, to still be nervous about talking to North. It was just...North tried, but he was still big, and loud, and...so much larger than life. He got going and bowled over everyone else in the room, and now Jack was the object in his sights half the time, so he couldn't simply stand to the side and watch the show. So he just kept wondering if he was going to get to say everything he had to say, of it North would bowl him over again, unintentionally.

Then again, North did already know about his eating problem, and his heart problem, so maybe...this might be a little easier.

Plus, the Workshop could still be a bit overstimulating sometimes. Not anyone's fault, it was just always so busy, so loud and colorful with everyone rushing about or working and after so many years of being on the outside, never really being a part of things, it was something Jack could only handle for so long yet, much like the Tooth Palace.

It was so frustrating! Then again, Jack consoled himself as he finally touched down on the balcony as lightly as one of his snowflakes, he hadn't really been trying this past year to get used to it as he'd been to console himself against its inevitable loss.

Something to work at, then. Because if, as he cautiously hoped, North would react as the others had, then he'd been expecting them to get rid of him (as everyone else had, little wonder he'd expected it) and for once, been wrong. And this time, Jack would like to have been wrong.

Jack took a deep breath of the bitingly cold air to brace himself before stepping inside the Workshop.

Immediately a rush of warmth hit him, along with a dozen smells. Paint and wood shavings, cinnamon and cocoa and pine and more, all mingled into a single scent that was the Workshop.

As usual, Jack had to stop for a second, both to get over the first shock of that smell and to revel in the fact that he was allowed to be in here, that he was welcome now.

That he'd been wrong. There wasn't going to be a limit on this.

It was even headier than the smell.

Moment over, Jack set out in search of North. Finding Nicholas St. North in his labyrinthine Workshop was worse than trying to find any other Guardian – and that included Sandy, who could be anywhere in the sleeping half of the world.

At first, it was a fun challenge, ducking in between the rafters and keeping an eye out for Santa. But after awhile, and with the knowledge of what he had to do heavy in his chest, Jack started watching the bustling yeti for one of the friendlier ones that might be able to put him on the right scent.

All the yeti were trying to be friendly, but some of them were more patient (or felt like they needed to make up for more) than the rest when it came to Jack.

Spotting Greta, one of the friendlier yeti, down on the floor, Jack dropped like a rock, only drifting down when he was a few feet above her head so he'd startle her a little less.

He took the mild scolding, which was mostly still gibberish to him though a scolding tone made the message clear, with as much grace as possible. He was understanding them more, much like with the baby teeth, and it was taking him extra time for many of the same reasons, but he was picking up a bit.

"I know, I know," he said when she finally seemed to have wound down. "But that's kind of why I'm here to talk to North. Well, part of it. So, um...you know where he is?"

Greta grumbled some more, and Jack rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah...about that...I'm sorta...mostly dead? So I only started eating again recently? It's not a habit yet."

Greta made a strangled noise of dismay and Jack choked as he was suddenly swept up in huge, furry arms.

It was nice, for a few seconds. Then it was too hot, too much, he couldn't breathe, he needed to get away now now now!

Thankfully Greta seemed to understand the frantic wiggling and put him down, but Jack was ashamed to see frost on her fur. He started stammering out an apology but she patted him on the head, smiling gently.

She turned away and waved for Jack to follow. Grateful she was dropping the subject, Jack did.

They passed out of the main Workshop quickly, to Jack's silent relief. He may have slowly been getting more used to being around other people, but the Workshop was still a lot to take in.

Here, in the more private areas, it was much quieter, with the sound of the bustle beyond filtered by heavy wood and thick carpets.

Surprised, Jack floated a bit to catch up with Greta. It was easier to fly or float outside or in the large areas of the Workshop or Warren or Tooth Palace where the wind could help him, but he could still do it, and he still enjoyed the brief surprise of those who thought he needed the wind to fly.

Greta, though, had seen it all before. "I thought North would be in his office, or the private workshop...?" Jack asked.

Another string of what seemed to be gibberish from Greta, explaining how even North sometimes needed a break from the noise, and needed to work on something that couldn't be disturbed, but it would be fine, he warned them before something like that so she would know if he needed privacy right now.

Reassured, if a little nervous now about going into North's more private domain after nearly a year of trying to push the Guardians away, Jack let her keep leading the way.

* * *

Jack recognized the door Greta eventually stopped in front of, from the one time he'd come this deep into the Workshop, following after Phil, though he hadn't come this deep since. Even when North had tried to give him a grand tour, he'd had to bail out around the time they had finished the main shop.

It had just been too much, and well, Jack had figured he'd seen the main parts of the Workshop, the rest was private. Sure he was technically a Guardian now, but until today he hadn't felt secure enough in that to venture into these hallways.

That, and it had felt wrong to try and go into the most private areas of any of the Guardian's homes when he was still trying to distance himself.

...save for the one prank set of waking them all up, but, well, that one didn't work unless you were right there when they woke up. He hadn't gone into their rooms since, and he hadn't really looked around that time either.

There were lines, even when you were trying to push everyone's limits.

Greta gave Jack a little push towards the door, nodding encouragingly. With a deep breath, Jack raised a hand he was pleased to see wasn't shaking and knocked.

North's voice rang out from inside. "Yes? What is big emergency?"

Greta gave Jack another little push and nod, turning to go. She waited until Jack opened the door a crack before she started walking, as if making sure he didn't chicken out.

Jack poked his head into the room, eyes going wide at the room beyond, even though it was the second time he'd seen it, because this time he was getting a better look, in the hopes that he could stay. It was crammed floor to ceiling with books along the walls, a treasure trove of knowledge. Some of the books looked like they could be as old as Jack himself, and were as well preserved.

There were beakers, some empty, some filled with liquids and concoctions, bubbling or sparkling in the light. There were crystal balls, wands, staffs, wrenches, gears, tools of both magic and technological trades both jumbled together across the tables.

And in the middle of it all stood North, looking completely in his element in this mix of science and magic. In his huge hand was a tiny piece of fiddly gears and springs, which he was frowning at thoughtfully.

North glanced up as the door opened, obviously expecting a yeti. He took a second look when he realized it was Jack, immediately putting down the thing he was working on and holding his arms out wide in welcome.

"Jack! Is good to see you!" he declared.

"This isn't a bad time, is it?" Jack asked, drifting further into the room. "You looked kind of busy..."

"Always have time for friends!" North protested. "And always even more for fellow Guardians! Is only little project, nothing important. More for tinkering."

"Oh. Good. Um...I kind of...need to talk to you. And it might take awhile," Jack said, hopping up onto his staff. "I already talked to the other Guardians about this, and I kinda want to get this over with."

"Ah," North said, a little confused but willing and, Jack realized, hopeful. He sat in the huge chair behind the biggest work table, gesturing for Jack to take the other chair next to his.

Jack did, but he sat perched in the chair's arm, still not entirely at home yet with using chairs for their intended purpose.

"Okay, so..." Jack took a deep breath, letting it out in a huff. "This will probably be easier if you just let me say it all and save your questions for the end, okay?"

North blinked a few times, obviously startled by the request, but slowly nodded.

"Right," Jack said. "So..." and for the fourth time he started talking.

North looked like he wanted to say something a few times, but held back. Jack was grateful for that, since he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep going if he was stopped, and North's questions led them down sidetracks worse than Bunny's when they got going.

Which was fun, but right now he couldn't do it. Later, there was a later now, that he could let them go down those sidetracks.

"That...explains much," North said slowly when Jack was finished. "Am thinking we will have much to talk about. Like about how are alive yet not alive, even after year of being Guardian? Is a bit strange. Thought perhaps had changed since was last mentioned."

"Um...really?" Jack asked, feeling his heart sink. "What do you..."

"May be because of...of the drowning, before becoming spirit," North said, and Jack didn't miss the wince or the falter when North said the words. "Let us hope it is still just depowered state, as theorized before, yes? And will become more alive as belief in 'Jack Frost' grows and you can have more of the shared power of Guardian belief."

"Shared power...oh right, you mentioned that awhile back," Jack said, shifting on the chair, more relaxed now that all four Guardians had heard him out. "It...might be. I barely ate before this last year but I had tea with both Bunny and Tooth today, and I feel fine. Might even be able to eat more later."

Jack couldn't quite place the looks that passed over North's face at his offhand comment about his eating habits – or lack thereof.

Remorse, concern, curiosity, and a dozen other emotions passed over that expressive face. North heaved a heavy sigh, before visibly brightening.

"Cannot change past," he said, "but can learn from it. Did others tell you their stories when you told yours?"

"I...didn't ask," Jack said, taken aback. "I mean, there was all the talk about the last year, with you guys, and the stuff before that, and we just kind of...didn't get to it? Tooth mentioned you guys had problems and traumas, but it wasn't really a good time to get into it. Too emotional already."

North's eyes glittered, the grin of a true born storyteller stretching across his face. "Well, is not very fair, is it?"

"...you sure they're okay with you telling all their secrets?" Jack asked, mischief dancing in his eyes to match North's.

North waved his hand. "Will not be telling you secrets," he said. "All is written down in library. In stories written down by Katherine."

"...Katherine?" Jack asked, head tilting. "You mentioned her one other time but you never said...?"

"Ah. That is where we will start. Come, you may not yet need to drink but I have much to tell you. Will be easier with drink. Will give summary first. So, many years ago, there was a small village called Santoff Claussen..."

* * *

A/N: I realized that not everyone has read the books, and I'm only pulling bits and pieces from them anyway, but I would like to say that Katherine is from said books. I'm hoping to explain her, and another character, in-story later. It's probably frustrating that I left off this chapter there, but I'm hoping to clear it up later. :)


	13. Chapter 13

The next few Guardian meetings were almost overly cautious. Each of them was being careful not to offend, and in the case of the four original Guardians, to not let on just yet exactly what Jack had signed on for.

Of course, he'd had a year to catch on, but he'd been so focused on remembering the little he could and on getting them so annoyed they'd show their true motives and get rid of him, he might not have noticed if they'd begun making out in front of him.

Maybe.

But there was still a good deal of relief in the meetings, a general clearing of the air.

One of the first things North did at the meeting right after Jack had managed to have his little talk with each of them was to stand up and tell the others that he had told Jack a summary of Nightlight and Katherine and all of their pasts, and he apologized for any lines he had crossed...but Jack had needed to know.

It had just been a summary – that Katherine, Guardian of Imagination (or Storytelling, depending on who was asked), had helped them during Pitch's bid for dominance long ago, that Nightlight, Guardian of Bravery, had been the first, had protected MiM until Nightlight had come to earth, how the two of them and Kailash, Katherine's Himalayan Snow Goose, a goose big enough for Katherine to ride, were on a journey of healing, with no known date to return.

Jack, foregoing the window seat he'd been using during the meetings, off to the side and not really part of the group, huddled in the chair he'd chosen that was in the circle of them all, watching them with cautious eyes. As apologies rolled in, apologizing for assuming he'd found out their stories, for not thinking to tell him the things that weren't common knowledge for others but needed to be known about each other, things they'd known for so long that they'd forgotten he wouldn't know, instead of accusations, though, he slowly came out of his ball.

* * *

It took several more meetings before the other Guardians had another after meeting Jack huddle.

Jack had flitted off out the window, smiling, but this time it was a real smile. The Guardians hadn't realized just how fake the smiles he'd been giving them were until they'd seen the real ones, but now, unless they lost their way again, they wouldn't be fooled by the fakes anymore.

Bunny slumped down in his chair with a huff. "Glad you said something, Sandy," he said. "Those coupla months ago...we really almost screwed this up."

Sandy beamed, buffing his nails on his pajamas proudly.

"Was hard to believe Jack was hurting so much," North added, before slapping his belly. "Well, is not first time one of us hid pain, yes? And will likely not be last. Is problem we all have."

"I just wish he didn't feel like he has to be so careful around us," Tooth said, flitting back and forth a little before settling again. "He still is. I mean, he's more open now than a month ago, but he still can't let us in. He wasn't when we met, now it's so still and awkward."

"We just have to keep going," Bunny said, standing and touching Tooth's shoulder gently. She turned and started running her fingers through the fur of his ruff, an action that had always soothed them both but had been left behind with the rest of their communication. "It's better'n Jackie thinkin' we're about to dump 'im. If I've learned anythin' 'bout that gumby, he'll loosen up around us soon enough."

"That's probably true," Tooth agreed, calming a little with the familiar, repetitive motions. "The girls love him, I know that much. He said he had a present for them, but he wants to check with me before he gives it to them. I think he's still worried about offending us."

"Can not be worse than chocolate covered espresso beans," North said with a chuckle. Tooth groaned and rolled her eyes at the reminder. "Ah, boy gave them to elves too," North said, waving it off. "Promised not to do again. Likely too much even for him, yes? And is worried about hurting girls."

Sandy sent up a few worried symbols at that, but Tooth shook her head fondly as she replied. "No, it didn't hurt them, but if they'd had much more than it could have. Jack was pretty upset when he found out, it was why he gave them so little to begin with but it was still close. He's been extra careful with them since."

"We really misjudged 'im," Bunny said. "Gotta wonder where that reputation o' his came from, though."

"Meaning?" North asked, striding across the room to peer out at the frozen lands surrounding the Workshop, almost as if making sure Jack wasn't still out there.

"You know what I mean," Bunny snapped, huffing out a sigh when North turned honestly baffled eyes at him. "Fer El-ahrairah's sake, North, you oughta know better 'n the rest of us, you were a Bandit King," he said, stressing the title. "Don' cha remember all the things we heard 'bout Jack Frost afore we met him? Freezin' water pipes and causin' chaos an' all the rest? Did he tell ya what he tol' me about Easter o' 86? How long did he let folk jus' keep thinkin' he did it ta mess w' things?"

"Ah, yes, I remember now," North said. The huge man shrugged, Tooth flitting out of his way as he came up to stroke Bunny's shoulder. "Does not matter now. He is Guardian. We will find out someday, perhaps, and in meantime, he is with us. Will help his reputation."

Bunny broke into a grin. "Suppose that's true, at that," he admitted. "I haven't tried any courtin' yet. Figured the snowflake was still too shy."

"He certainly is!" Tooth said fiercely. She pointed at the other three sharply, other hand planted on her hip. "He needs more time, and none of us should make a move until he's more comfortable with all of us. If we tell him about this too early, he's just going to get scared off!" She paused, and the pointing finger lowered slowly. "But if we keep it from him for too long, he'll be angry he wasn't told earlier. Oh, what are we going to do?"

Tooth started fluttering about again as she began to worry, tail flaring as she zipping around the room, fretting a mile a minute.

A lasso of Dreamsand looped around her waist, lax enough to slow her down without actually hurting her. Tooth paused, looking down at the golden rope around her waist and up at Sandy with bafflement at first, before planting her hands on her hips and giving him a grin that was mixed confusion, exasperation, and amusement.

"I don't think the middle of my crises is a good time for this, Sandy," she said, and the rope dissolved as Sandy gave her an eyebrow wiggle of intent.

She giggled, calmer now that that particular train of thought had been derailed.

"Why not see how well Jackie takes hints?" Bunny suggested. "If'n he's like North it'll be a problem, but maybe we can sort of...ease him into the idea along w' the courtin'."

He ignored North's insulted mutterings with a little grin, one that didn't bode well for the state of the Workshop's beds later...if they made it that far.

"Right, that...we were going to do it that way," Tooth said slowly. "Oh, it's been a whole year since then, I almost forgot." Her feathers went slick to her body as she slowly lowered to the floor.

It was hard to remember, when she was flitting about, just how tiny Tooth was, and it almost hurt the other Guardians to be reminded of it like this, rather than when she played it up to for all of their enjoyment.

The four closed in together in a hug. "Will all work out, Toothie," North said, though the reassurance was as much for all of them as it was for Tooth. "Have Jack's trust now. Have earned it, and we can trust him."

"Okay, but how do we make the gumby believe it an' relax around us again?" Bunny asked after they finally separated – always a difficult task when they had a group cuddle.

"I...think all we can do is keep being us," Tooth said after a few awkward minutes, when no one was quite sure what to say. "I'm sure Jack will get used to us soon, he was treating us fine when he wasn't trying to prank us into kicking him out. He's been relaxing more and more each time we see him, I swear."

"Tooth is right," North said firmly. "But...will not hurt if we keep an eye on it."

Bunny pointed at North sternly. "No wandering hands, North. Snowflake's jumpy enough about touch as it is."

Sandy waved his arms, getting their attention, and a series of rapid images formed.

"You noticed that too, huh Sandy?" Bunny said. "Yeah, it's like he really wants to touch us, but he can't take it for long."

"Or he's scared of being rejected," Tooth said, wings fluttering. "Maybe he'll get better about it as time goes by? He mentioned having trouble with touch after not having it for so long..."

"Will have to help him," North declared. "Yes Sandy, must go slow, we know."

Sandy, who had started sending up a flurry of signals, subsided with a satisfied nod.

"Right," Bunny said. "So, it looks like Mission: Court Jack is back on."

None of the Guardians paid much attention to the baby teeth that flitted away from their mother, filled with determination and information they needed to tell the other helpers and giggling gleefully.

* * *

Jack landed lightly on the edge of the landing platform of the Tooth Palace. He knew now what the Palace's proper name was now, but he still thought of it first as the Tooth Palace.

He...probably should try and think of it more as Punjam Hy Loo. Maybe he'd ask Tooth which she preferred, if the 'proper' name brought back bad memories or if she would rather they used that name.

It gave Jack a little glow to remember how emphatic they'd all been to remind him over and again that he didn't need to worry about offending them. They wanted him around, no matter what.

So he could ask things like that. Probably.

No, he could, they meant it, they weren't like so many of the other spirits Jack had met, who said one thing and meant another, and he needed to remember that, Jack reminded himself firmly.

He was still taken off guard by the swarm of baby teeth that surrounded him, tiny bodies pressing close as close as they could get to a hug.

For some reason, this time, they seemed more intense than usual.

Mentally Jack shrugged it off and did his best to enjoy all the tiny hugs, though they still overwhelmed him too quickly for his tastes and he had to hurry off before the baby teeth were ready. It was still longer than it had been a year before, so it was progress, and Jack was content with that for now.

The baby teeth chirped in disappointment, so sad that Jack almost made himself go back, but the thought of more touch after taking it as long as he could manage stopped him.

He did send them back some snow to play with, though. It wasn't much, just a tiny shower of glitter, but at least the big eyes and sad chirps turned to glee.

Jack flitted through the Palace and hesitated on the edge of the sitting room he was supposed to meet Tooth in.

She was in there, all right, and she had the tea ready (Jack knew they'd all been informed about his issues with food, since there had been light foods, ones someone unused to eating would find it easy to eat, at every meeting since their talks) but...Sandy was there too.

Of course, Sandy had every right to be there. It wasn't like this was a private thing between Jack and Tooth, it just...threw him.

After that first hesitation, Jack floated into the room, and the bright smiles directed his way at his arrival, brighter than sunshine, let him know he'd made the right choice.

"Jack! I hope you don't mind, Sandy managed to sneak out a little time to visit," Tooth said quickly, fluttering into the air and flitting over to Jack. She reached for his hands, hesitating and pulling back when he flinched.

"Naw, it's good to see both of you," Jack said, reaching out and taking Tooth's hand for a quick squeeze. "Your jobs both take up so much time, I can hardly believe you can snatch out this much. Sorry, the baby teeth sort of mobbed me when I got here, used up some of my touch-limit for the moment. Seemed extra enthusiastic about it today."

Sandy looked far too innocent when Jack said that, and Jack recognized the look, from one prankster to another. He wasn't entirely sure yet that Sandy was a prankster, but he gave off all the signs for one – and that look was entirely too perfect.

Tooth, on the other hand, had settled back down on her cushion, though her hands were moving rapidly. "I hope they didn't give you any trouble, I don't know why they would..."

Jack waved his hand, settling down on his own cushion. It was thickly padded, made of soft blue silk, and someone had embroidered it with snowflakes. A little stereotyped, perhaps, but it was well done and he could recognize a peace offering and outstretched hand when he saw it, even if he had to remind himself on occasion that these hands didn't have malicious intent behind them.

Still, Jack wondered at what he thought he'd seen before he'd landing. It had looked like it could just be innocent, but it had almost looked like Sandy and Tooth had been preening each other before they'd noticed him coming in.

Part of Jack wanted to ask, but he squashed it down. They'd tell him when they were ready, and if it wasn't as innocent as it looked...well, for some reason the thought of Tooth and Sandy together hurt, just a little, and he wasn't sure if it was the idea that they didn't tell him, didn't think of it enough to tell him, or what it was.

And if he was wrong and it was just an innocent thing, if intimate, then they'd all be stuck at awkward again.

Even if it did look tempting...no. Bad Jack. Bad Jack, can't even take a hug for too long, no thinking of those sort of thoughts. Especially not with new friends who were still fragile and new even if they were going to stick it out. (Obviously meant to stick it out, seeing as how they stood up to nearly a full year's worth of some of the cruelest pranks he'd ever pulled just to keep him. He could have been crueler, but those weren't _fun_ , and he didn't _want_ to be cruel, even when he'd still been hurting over their accusations.)

And for all he knew, the Guardians were like family, and thinking or acting on those thoughts were what would really ruin things.

No, he had to just be misunderstanding a simple gesture. That was all.

* * *

Assured in his own mind, Jack sipped at the tea Tooth had made (sometimes he was surprised she was willing to give him tea, since it could stain teeth) and tried to join the conversation.

After a lull, Jack suddenly remembered something he'd been meaning to bring up to Tooth for awhile now. "Oh, hey Tooth? Do you remember awhile back, I said about a present I have for the baby teeth?"

"Oh! Yes, you did mention...is it ready for them?"

Jack smiled. "I think so, as long as it's okay with you."

She looked at him narrowly, setting down her teacup. "It's not something like the chocolate covered espresso beans, is it? Or anything remotely similar, Jack?"

He held up both hands in surrender as Sandy laughed at them both. "No, nope, learned my lesson the first time, never giving them or the elves caffeine again, that way lies madness," he said quickly. "Never again."

Tooth relaxed, her feathers smoothing back down to their usual sleekness and setting down the teacup to shake out her hands, which had been gripping the cup tightly enough for Jack to worry about the fragile porcelain. "I'm not going to insult you by asking if it'll hurt my girls," she said. "I know you'd never do that on purpose. Go ahead, Jack. Do you have it with you now?"

"Well, it's not really a thing, so yeah, you could say I do," Jack said. "You're...not gonna ask what it is?"

Tooth smiled, and this time, when she reached for him, Jack was able to accept the hand on his shoulder, even leaning in to the touch the way he wanted to, to enjoy the touch. "I trust you, Jack," she repeated. Then the smile turned mischievous, and she giggled. "Just don't make too big of a mess."

"I make no promises," Jack said as loftily as he could manage before darting away, with Tooth's giggle and Sandy's silent laughter in his wake.

* * *

Jack zipped up to the area where most of the baby teeth hung out when they were taking their breaks or off work. He wondered, as he flew, if he should have told Tooth what his present was...but he didn't turn around to tell her.

He'd found, over the years, that intent really did matter when it came to magic, and since he wanted the baby teeth safe and protected, even if this did mean something, it wasn't likely to be harmful, considering his intentions. If anything, it would be protective.

The thoughts were driven from his head as he landed in the middle of the nesting area and was immediately mobbed.

"Hey, c'mon ladies!" he laughed. "C'mon, I need a little space here." The girls backed off, still chirping softly.

Jack dug into the pocket of his hoodie, the same one that he'd had for years despite North's attempts to offer a replacement over the past year.

"I promised you a present awhile back," he said, as the baby teeth watching him avidly. "Your mama gave me the okay, but I kind of didn't tell her exactly what it was."

The baby teeth giggled – so naughty, naughty naughty Jack! – while crowding around.

Baby Tooth hung back, flitting up to Jack's ear, quietly chirped a question. Jack nodded, suddenly solemn.

"I promise, it won't hurt any of you, not even by accident. I checked, it'll be fine. Well, okay, there might be some sort of side effects, but they'd be positive."

Reassured, Baby Tooth was as eager as her sisters to find out the surprise.

Finally, Jack pulled a novel's worth of paper out of the hoodie's pocket, to the audible confusion of his audience, given the size of the pocket versus the mass of paper.

"Names," Jack said simply. "I know you girls don't have them, but you're turning more and more into individuals every day, so I put together some lists. You can each choose what you want to be called, okay? And I'll make notes on who chose what."

The squealing of the baby teeth could have shattered glass. Immediately they dove for the papers, talking and arguing and loving every moment of it.

Baby Tooth began to dart down towards the lists and her sisters, only to be caught in Jack's gentle hands.

"Hey, Baby Tooth," he whispered, glancing up at the other fairies to make sure they weren't listening. "I...kind of picked one out for you already, if that's okay? Besides 'Baby Tooth', that's sort of your name already."

Baby Tooth lit up. Darting out of Jack's hands, she did loops around his head before settling again in his hands, almost abashed by her outburst.

Jack laughed and gave her the cheek rub that stood for a hug between them before whispering his chosen name into her ear.

Baby Tooth, Rani, blushed deeply at the sound of her name, so carefully chosen, now _hers_ , her own _name_ , chosen for her alone. _Duchess, Queen, Sovereign_ , it meant, Jack's little princess, the special one.

Cheeping, she spun another loop around Jack's head in pure joy before settling down in his hood, cuddling against Jack's neck.

Chuckling, Jack put his hand up to cup her tiny body for a moment, holding her close and taking a moment just for the two of them before he went to break up a squabble over names.

This present was going to be more dangerous than he'd expected, if only when it came to breaking up sisterly squabbles.


	14. Chapter 14

Bunny paused just inside the entrance to his Burrow. He should have been getting on his way to the Guardians meeting, but he had a sudden feeling he was forgetting something.

Eh, wouldn't hurt to check. He always left early anyway, so he could be warm again by the time the meeting started and not distracted by cold feet and ears.

...though it was too bad Jackie hadn't clued in yet to what was simmering below the surface. There were much nicer ways to warm up than the fireplace, but until Jackie knew what was going on, well, better to use the fireplace than risk the Frostbite walking in on something he wasn't ready to see or understood just yet.

Bunny let himself wander, finding himself in front of the closet where he kept the few clothes he'd collected over the years.

The oldest coat brought up memories that were conflicted at best. He'd met the other Guardians while wearing it, but he'd been so much more uptight then, so unwilling to even consider friendship, let alone marriage...

But in front of it was the gear the other Guardians had gifted him over the years. Slowly Bunny reached out, carefully rubbing the fabric against the pads of his hand. There were quite a few outfits in here...maybe...making a good showing of yourself was part of Pookan courting, after all...

And maybe, Jack wasn't the only one who deserved a little courting.

There were wolf-whistles when Bunny made his entrance into the meeting room. He preened a little under the attention, sniffing to check if Jack had arrived yet.

Jack's distinct smell, primarily of fresh, cold air, with overtones of whatever he'd lately been doing, was out in the main Workshop, so Bunny relaxed a tad.

Tooth fluttered forward, a gentle hand reaching out to brush over the coat Bunny had chosen. "It's been awhile since we've seen this," she said, glancing at Bunny from under her lashes.

On the other side of the room, Sandy gave a huge grin and a thumbs up, while North was eying Bunny as if he were having thoughts that would get him permanently on the Naughty list, adult edition.

Bunny's ears flicked, the Pookan equivalent of a blush. "Well, Jack's not the only one who deserves a bit o' courtin', ya know?" he said, scooping up the hand Tooth was touching his coat with and giving it a kiss.

Tooth giggled and gave Bunny's shoulder a little shove. "You know, you're right," she said thoughtfully. She grinned at her boys, mischief and excitement making her seem to sparkle. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

"What's going to be fun?" Jack asked, dropping down from the ceiling onto North's shoulders. The Guardians tensed, frightened of what he might have heard, until he continued, "Hey, Bunny, what's with the coat?"

Bunny sniffed, putting his nose in the air. "You simply have no appreciation for fashion, show pony," he said, eye trained on Jack.

Thankfully, the newest Guardian recognized the teasing for what it was. "Hey, it's not like I had many options," he said, shifting his weight as North stepped forward.

Silently the Guardians cheered to watch Jack perching on North so casually, like a ridiculously long legged parrot, comfortable with the contact on his terms.

"But really, what's with the coat?" Jack asked, sliding down to sit on North's shoulder. The man didn't complain, just shifted his weight to accommodate Jack's slight frame.

"What, I can't feel like brushin' up the old tack once in awhile?" Bunny asked. "Ya hate it tha' much, Frostbite?"

"I never said that," Jack said, a quick blush passing over his face. "And please stop calling me Frostbite," he added, quieter and suddenly absorbed with his staff. "It's...I don't like that part of winter."

He hunched on North's shoulder, obviously waiting for some kind of harsh comeback despite all the ground they'd gained with each other, and perked when Bunny just said, "Well, wish you'd've said somethin' sooner so I could'a quit before now. Won't happen again, Snowflake."

"Good," North said, clapping his hands once before things could get awkward. "Now that all have seen Bunny's clothes, and all _appreciate_ Bunny in them, must get on to meeting. Am afraid there is possibility of problem."

North led the way into the meeting room, Jack still perched on his shoulder. Baby Tooth (as she still preferred to be called in public, having not yet revealed her new Name) whipped out from beside her mother to perch on Jack, while several of her sisters did the same to North, Bunny, and Sandy.

Jack was the only one Baby Tooth would perch on, though. Deliberate favoritism.

Jack finally dropped off North's shoulder when they reached the meeting room, flopping down into the chair North had made him bonelessly.

North stood at the head of the table, hands braced against its solid surface, as the others sat. "Am sorry that this comes so soon after last emergency," he said. "Manny does not know about this, likely would not until it was too late. Is not yet a threat. But would like to nip this in bud, if is."

"Well, quit being cryptic then," Jack said, hauling himself up in his chair to perch on the arm. "Can't be worst than Pitch, right?"

"Hope it will not be," North said. "Pitch was a bit of a rare case. Yes, Sandy, should probably check on him soon...bah. First things first. Is Krampus."

* * *

The room was silent for a few moments after North dropped the name, with only the sounds of the workshop filtering in as background.

"Okay, mate," Bunny finally said, "I got no idea who that is."

North looked around the table for backup and was met with more blank gazes and shrugs.

"Oh." He thought for a moment. "Krampus was...he is opposite me, but still Christmas. Only he does not bring gifts, he takes children, or brings switches to whip them with. Sometimes does both and is the one doing the whipping. Has had celebrations with him in Europe for many years. Was fine with that, but more are beginning to know of him, and worried over him attempting to take over holiday, da? Was supposed to be shared in places that believe in him, but always hinted he wanted to punish all children, even the good ones. Is one thing to play along with when is just a little scare, but is making noises like he will start to take it too far."

"So...he hasn't actually done anything yet?" Jack asked.

"No. Just want to talk to him, but is being difficult to find. Is like he is planning something, but after Pitch...do not want to wait and find out the hard way, but do not want to jump gun and react too much."

"So what was your idea, North? Sandy and I can't drop everything to search," Tooth said, wings flicking over the side of the backless chaise that was her designated chair. "Even though we want to help."

"Da, I realize this," North agreed. "Was brought to my attention before. Is my thought we could search in pairs, switching partners until we find Krampus. That way, can split search so no one must neglect work."

"When do we start?" Jack asked.

"In morning. Must set up rotation, da? And make sure is fair. So no one work too hard and all get chance to partner with each other."

* * *

The rest of the meeting was primarily spent in random speculation up until Jack's attention was drawn by the yeti, pulling him out of the room.

Apparently, the fact that Jack hadn't been able to eat on a regular basis for the past three hundred years and had only begun eating small amounts recently had the more parental yeti ready to hover and feed him as much as he could stand, as well as smother him is as much affection as he would permit.

* * *

Once they were sure Jack was out of hearing range, the conversation continued, albeit on a new topic. "So, you really worried about Krampus, or that just an excuse to get Jackie to hang around us one on one there mate?" Bunny asked, leaning on the table with one arm.

"Cannot be both?" North asked, as innocently as he could. "Am worried about Krampus," he added more soberly. "Did not lie. Manny waits until is big problem to notice but...really would like to find out now, before is problem. More time for Jack to get used to us is bonus."

From outside the room, there was a commotion, with Jack's voice upraised, and they all looked at each other in panic before rushing from the room.

* * *

North came to a short stop by the railings on the balcony overlooking the other floors, so short the others nearly ran into him.

Once they had sorted themselves out, they all stared down at the scene below in surprise, unsure what to do now.

It was a pile, a swarm, a typhoon of elves, leaping on top of each other and running around the main pile, giggling and jingling.

A staff poked out of the pile, and Jack's laughter rang through the air, a deeper counterpoint to the elves.

"Guys! Help!" he called, voice muffled by the dozens of tiny bodies piled on top of him.

The yeti weren't being any help, as they stood around and laughed. It was rather cute to the Guardians' cynical eyes, but...probably best to get Jack out from under those elves before he started having a panic attack from being buried under elves.

"Enough, yes, enough," North scolded, holding back his laughter as he strode down the stairs and shooed the elves. "Yes, yes, is very good you love Jack so much, are all very pleased. But Jack needs space now."

The elves gave disappointed little groans but began to tumble off Jack, leaving him flopped on the floor, panting and crying from laughter and a touch of overstimulation.

"You are all right, Jack?" North asked, picking the frost spirit up off the ground under his arms.

Jack was still chuckling, moving back out of arms reach. He'd had enough touch for one day, thanks to the elves. "Yeah, just a bit much there yanno?" He chuckled again, smoothing down his hair, though it sprang back into place. "I...think I'm going to go hang out for a bit, by myself. You...said there were rooms for us to hang out in?"

North lit up like one of his trees. "Yes! Just finished them, right in time! Come, come, is surprise for all," he said, urging Jack towards the deeper parts of the Workshop and waving for the others to follow.

Jack moved away from the hand North had laid on his back, and North pulled his hand back quickly, only then remembering Jack's overstimulation issue. Still, Jack was smiling, so North let it drop.

* * *

Bunny and the other three Guardians followed cautiously behind North as he guided Jack towards the bedrooms. They exchanged nervous glances as they followed, remembering too well what the bedrooms North had given them were like before – decorated in North's tastes, with heavy four posters and lots of solid wood, not something that Tooth or Bunny was comfortable spending time in, let alone sleeping.

Sandy, of course, could sleep anywhere and at any time.

The marriage bed, in a large room at the end of the hallway, the most personal room and personal wing, was different. That room they'd all made together, even if it had been a long time since they had used it, even just for cuddling.

So it was a bit of a shock – though a pleasant one – when North opened the door marked with a snowflake overlaid with Jack's staff.

Jack paused for a moment at the door to trace careful, almost reverent fingers across the carving, leaving a delicate tracery of frost in the wake of his touch. It was another sign, more permanent, that they meant it. He was here, this was for him alone, and no one was going to make him leave.

The room was...cozy. Light, airy paint on the walls, bright, crisp, clean colors on the bed and the dresser, the armchair and table by the fireplace, bright blues on the thick rugs by bed and fireplace and the bedcovers, it was a room designed with Jack and his comforts in mind.

"...may have gotten yetis to help decorate," North said as Jack examined the room, darting about like a child on Christmas morning. "May have also gotten their help to remodel other rooms, too. Was a bit too much before, yes? May be more to your tastes now."

"You didn't, um..." Tooth said, hands gesturing vaguely in the direction of the master bedroom hidden a hallway away.

"A little," North said, in what was, for him, an undertone. "Wait and see before judging, yes? May yet be pleasant surprise."

Bunny thought that unlikely until he saw the remodeling done to his own room, at which point the odds turned solidly in North's favor. A proper nest sat in that room, a holdover from the Pookan homeworld he preferred that he only let the other Guardians know about, a room walled in honeyed wood and hanging plants, while Tooth's room was light and airy, filled with pierced gold lamps and a pillow nest, similar to Sandy's new room yet both unique to their individual tastes.

They didn't dare sleep in the marriage bed that night, with Jack so close and yet still so unaware, but it was a much more comfortable rest than they'd had at the Workshop in many years that night.

* * *

A/N: I apologize, everyone, but I think I need to go to a bi-weekly posting schedule after this week - I only have two more chapters complete, and it's not even close to done, so I'm going to need to stretch them out a little or have to go on haitus. And I would rather keep the updates as regular as I can.


	15. Chapter 15

The search for Krampus had been going on for almost four months now, and the Guardians were beginning to think they would never find him.

At the moment, about the only good thing that seemed to be coming out of the search was Jack's increasing comfort around them. He didn't jump when they went for a touch anymore so long as they telegraphed it clearly, sometimes even allowed them to linger, and hugs were longer, sometimes even initiated by Jack.

They had had quite a few of their little Jack meetings after coming back from searches...and ended up re-christening a few rooms at the Workshop as a result.

Bunny's use of his surprisingly extensive wardrobe didn't hurt matters any, and neither did Tooth's sudden interest in the flight displays of Sister of Flight courtship, or Sandy's lingering dreamsand, and North's blunt yet charming flirtations.

But despite all those highs, they still hadn't found Krampus, and it was getting frustrating.

And alongside the little clues they found of his presence, they were beginning to hear rumors of General Winter, and beginning to feel more and more uneasy.

But that was all it was. Uneasiness. There was nothing they could point to, to say 'this, this is wrong, something is wrong here' and do anything about.

So they didn't. They couldn't.

In the meantime, the Burgess Seven were getting older, and they wanted a little time with these children before social pressure and growing older made them stop believing. So while the search was ongoing, it was a bit less intense than North's original plan.

Jack, especially, couldn't get enough. He'd loved children before, but never before now had they loved him back.

But even though the Burgess Seven were in junior high school now, they hadn't stopped believing. They were quieter about it, didn't flaunt it, but they _believed_ , and while yes, they had gotten into quite a few fights over it, at this point they were happy to dump anyone who gave them problems about it.

And despite the random bully, they were happy kids, so the Guardians, especially Jack, kept going the extra mile for them.

* * *

Jack was growing in power, with little bursts and surges as belief in him, personally, grew. They all drew from the same well of belief, but belief in one of them in particular could cause a brief power surge before it leveled back out.

At first, they couldn't figure out why Jack finally was gaining belief after all these years – until Jamie admitted to the media empire he'd been building with the other Burgess kids.

The reddit sub-reddit, the tumblr blog, Facebook and twitter and blogs and videos, all dedicated to myths and the paranormal – with a heavy emphasis on Jack Frost during his seasons, mingled with the rest so it didn't seem like they were hoping people would believe in him.

If nothing else, Jack had to praise the kids' photography skills. They were really getting good at taking pictures of fall foliage and snow, neither of which was particularly easy to get just right.

And Jack's new game of leaving pictures in the frost was apparently a big hit online, with people either trying to debunk the images as photoshopped or arguing over their legitimacy.

Either way, belief in Jack, personally, was growing, and he was growing more alive every day.

If the Guardians had thought Jack attractive before, then they were blown away by how much more vibrant he became, how happy he was as he became more alive and less a frozen young man.

It didn't stop him from making the zombie jokes, but it did make them a bit easier to take.

And it was never more evident then when Jack would be taken off guard by his growing aliveness.

A pause as he felt the wind in his hair, as he stopped to stroke Bunny's arm and marvel at the soft silkiness of his fur (and Bunny marveled at the change to Jack, that he was willing now to touch for so long, and Bunny was more than willing to indulge him).

Stopping mid flight to watch Tooth as she flew, teased out of the castle that, while beautiful, was still a cage if she was trapped there by her work, entranced by the colors shimmering over her feathers as she darted and twisted through the air that were so much clearer, brighter, now, showing off a little for her prospective partner and Spice as she danced in the tradition of the Sisters of Flight.

Reminding the others of how beautiful she was when he stopped to marvel, of the glory that was Sandy's cloud of dreamsand, the glow lighting up the night, exclaiming as if blinders had been lifted from his eyes and the world was clearer, sharper, than it had been in three hundred years.

* * *

Though, this being Jack, there were the terrifying moments as well.

Like the moment he stopped in mid-air, dropping down to land in front of Bunny like a rock instead of the snowflake he usually resembled, clutching at his chest. Bunny panicked, the scent of Jack's shock filling his nose as he bounded over to the smaller spirit, jerking in surprise when Jack grabbed his hand, pressing it to his chest. Bunny froze, the two of them holding that pose as the solid _thud_ of a heartbeat vibrated through Jack's chest, and neither set of eyes were dry as Bunny bundled Jack up and took off for the Pole to share the news.

* * *

Like the day he nearly fainted, having not realized that he was, of all things, _hungry_.

Though it retrospect, it was also going to be something they teased him about for years.

* * *

"North. Noooooorth," Jack whined as he flopped into a chair in North's inner office, and while North didn't look up from the ice he was carving, inwardly he was dancing with glee that Jack was so relaxed around them that he'd invaded this inner sanctum, that the whining was real and not another attempt to irritate them into making him leave. "My stomach hurts. Real bad."

That got North's attention. He dropped his carving to the desk, hurrying over to Jack. He felt Jack's forehead, but Jack felt the same as usual – roughly a little chillier than human, but not cold.

"You are otherwise fine?" North asked, suddenly having a sneaking suspicion when Jack curled up around his stomach.

"Yeah, I just...ugh it feels like I've been hollowed out," Jack groaned.

"...Jack, you are hungry. Did you forget...ah. Yes. You have not needed to eat..." North wondered. He brightened and laughed, slapping Jack on the back. "Congratulations, Jack! You are more alive than were yesterday! Come, to the kitchen!"

"I...what?" Jack said, dragged along behind North by one hand as the huge man strode down to the kitchen like a chilly balloon. "North, what are you talking about?"

"Is simple – have been growing more alive as belief builds, yes?" North called back over his shoulder. "Now, stomach hurts. Therefore, hunger. Could eat before but was just for taste and comfort, yes?"

"It was getting better..." Jack grumbled. Experience kept him seated when North pushed him gently into a chair at the little table in the kitchen, knowing that North wouldn't drop it.

So for the moment, Jack distracted himself from the ache in his stomach by admiring the kitchen.

Like the rest of the Workshop, it was amazing, with loving attention to detail, and so suited to the yeti that worked here that it was difficult to picture them anywhere else.

"North, I've tried eating," Jack argued softly, knowing he was going to eat whatever the yeti put in front of him just to make them happy (and because it tasted damn good, even to him) but feeling it should be said anyway. "I don't think that..."

A bowl of soup was set in front of Jack, with Greta standing over him. She pointed sternly at the bowl and back at Jack, and the yeti had been unsuccessfully trying to fatten him up for long enough at this point for the meaning to be bluntly clear.

Giving in, Jack took a spoonful of soup and froze. "Wha...holy shit," he breathed. He heard Greta scolding softly about his language, but his stomach was demanding food too loudly to pay attention. "Foo. Food is amazing."

With that statement Jack applied his entire attention to his food, barely hearing North's amused chuckle.

* * *

"...and he inhaled it! Did good to see," North finished, beaming at the other four guardians during the "Talk About Jack After-Meeting".

"Snowflake's been more alive lately," Bunny noted, giving a little shake. "Gettin' harder to keep ma hands ta myself, though I'm doin' it. Seems a lot happier than he used ta, like real happy. An' he's not shyin' away from touch anymore. Like wi' the elves, he was overwhelmed but okay, yanno? An' he tackled me for a bit o' wrestlin' in the Warren other day, actually started horsin' around first. Quit lookin' at me like tha', Sandy, was jus' wrestlin', get yer mind outta the gutter."

Sandy fluttered hie eyelashes at Bunny while a sand halo formed over his head.

"All the one on one time has really been helping," Tooth said happily. "Not just for Jack, I mean. It's good to get time with each other, even if we do have things to search for."

"I just hope we find 'im soon," Bunny said, giving a stretch. "All the time together's nice, but I'm a mite tired of all this runnin' about."

Sandy sent up a few symbols, and Bunny nodded. "Yeah, I hear ya. I agree. What do you think, North?"

"I...what?" North said, and both Sandy and Bunny rolled their eyes.

"Okay, so...I agree, I'm not the most sociable o' spirits," Bunny said, "But we ain't even been talkin' with each other. Maybe we'd have more luck with the searchin' if we could talk to other spirits, ya ken?"

"Where would we even start?" Tooth said anxiously. "We've kept separate from everyone else for so long..."

"Jack did say had a few friends...not many, but a few. Perhaps could start with them?" North suggested. "Whoever sees him next shall ask, yes?"

"...I don't think Jack's caught on yet about the whole marriage thing, do you?" Tooth asked, thoughtful. "I know we've all been having trouble keeping hands to ourselves lately, but...don't look at me like that, boys, you all know it's true."

Two of the three looked away, suddenly finding the walls and ceiling absolutely fascinating. The third grinned unrepentantly, the halo appearing again.

"Now that Jackie's gettin' more used to touch we could...yanno, be a little more open," Bunny suggested. "Though ya still need ta watch them sneaky hands," he added quickly, pointing at North.

North grinned. "You _like_ sneaky hands."

Bunny's ears flickered in his version of a blush, glancing away and clearing his throat. "Uh. Anyway. Jack's not ready for yer sneaky hands."

Tooth and Sandy were nodding along in agreement. "I think the courting is going well, even if Jack doesn't realize just what it is yet," Tooth commented. "I'm looking forward to when he knows what's going on." She paused, eyes going distant. "That is, if he wants us that way. I...I really hope he does."

"Us too, Toothie," Bunny said, all four of them gathering together, arms around each other, before talking became unnecessary.

* * *

Jack swung at a cloud with his staff irritably, flopping down onto the fluffy mass with a groan.

He still didn't understand just why it was that he could pass through the clouds at times and sit on them at others, but questioning it right now was just distracting him from his real problems.

Maybe now was a good time to wonder about that after all...

There was a flutter of wings, probably just to let him know they were there, and he cracked one eye open to glare up at Cupid.

"Find your own cloud..." he groaned.

"Well, that's just rude," Cupid said teasingly, stretching. There was a lot of Cupid to stretch, and once, Jack might have opened his eyes to enjoy the show. After all, Cupid preferred going around in little more than a white, kilt-like skirt and bandolier with his weapon of the moment hung from belt or back, and every inch of the huge man was solid, if hairy, muscle.

Now, though...

Cupid flopped, stomach down, on the cloud beside Jack, deliberately spreading a wing over Jack's face and smacking him with it.

Jack sputtered, squirming out from under the wing and coughing. "I think I snorted a feather..." he complained, giving the offending wing a shove.

Cupid just laughed, not moving except to glance at Jack out of one amused blue eye.

"So what's wrong with you?" Cupid asked bluntly. Jack sputtered, immediately starting to deny that anything could be wrong.

It earned him an eye roll and another smack with a wing. Jack rubbed the spot sullenly as Cupid spoke. "As if I believe that. You _know_ I can feel when folk are having love troubles. Did you really think I'd pass up a chance at teasing you, of all spirits, for finally falling?"

"It's not like I've had a lot of opportunities..." Jack muttered, not quite low enough.

Cupid shrugged. "Their loss. So what is it?"

"...can someone be in love with more than one person at the same time?" Jack finally asked abruptly.

Apparently realizing that this conversation needed his full attention, Cupid opened both eyes and levered himself up to look at Jack properly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because...because everyone always talks about finding your soulmate, and everyone talks about finding _the One_ , and monogamy, and...and..." he slumped back onto the cloud, idly making little cloud sculptures.

"Those are all mortal things, though," Cupid pointed out, "and even those don't apply to all humans." Jack looked up at him through his bangs, looking remarkably like a puppy, and Cupid bit back the automatic teasing in favor of serious conversation.

"So..."

"Don't look at me like that, you know I don't use my arrows on other spirits," Cupid joked lightly, bumping shoulders with the smaller spirit. "Yes, it's possible to love, romantically, more than one other person. All at the same time. It's more common among spirits that you'd think. I should know. Have you talked to any of them? The ones you think you might be falling for, that is."

"I don't want to ruin things," Jack said softly. "We're only just now getting along. And...I'm not sure if that's what I'm feeling, anyway. Might just be 'cuz they're spending so much time with me."

Cupid looked over at Jack searchingly. Jack, for his part, had rolled onto his back and was staring up at the sky as if it held all the answers. Cupid sighed, stretching out on his stomach over the cloud.

"Look, just let it flow," he said. "Let them be friends. Let yourself care for them. The strongest relationships start as friends." He paused, as if considering his next words. Diplomacy wasn't Cupid's strong suit, but just like Jack, he had few friends, and didn't want to hurt one of the few he had. "I...heard rumors, once, about the Guardians. About how they...what sort of relationship they had with each other. But I was never close enough to tell for sure, know what I mean?"

Jack sat up, twisting to look at Cupid, eyes narrowed and piercing. "What do you mean?"

Cupid shrugged. "A group of spirits that are close to each other and like physical, affectionate contact? What do _you_ think others said about them?"

Jack's mouth twisted and he rolled his eyes, falling back onto the cloud as Cupid laughed.

"It may have just been rumor, or may have been true," Cupid said, as diplomatic as he ever could be. "You...well, you and I, and other friends, we've been on our own for a long time, right? If they haven't said anything, maybe they're waiting until they're sure you're comfortable around them before they speak up. You could always just ask."

Jack snorted softly. "Somehow I knew you were going to say that."

"Communication is the key to a strong relationship," Cupid said ponderously, for the laugh it drew from Jack. "Communication and respect." The look he gave Jack this time was kind, and the nudge gentler than usual. "So talk to them. You may like what you hear."

"Maybe..." Jack muttered, knowing for a fact that 'maybe' meant 'not anytime soon if I can help it.'

* * *

Notes: "Spice" is a term I've heard at least one poly person use to refer to their multiple spouses, so I use it as well.  
Also, look out Guardians, Jack's gotten hints. He's not believing the hints yet, but he's paying attention to things. ;)


	16. Chapter 16

Jack blinked at the other four Guardians, momentarily struck speechless.

"I'm sorry, I must have some frost in my ears or something," he finally said. "Care to repeat that?"

North drew breath, but Bunny cut in first. "We mean exactly what we said, Snowflake. We've been ignoring everybody fer too long. So we thought maybe ya'd be okay wi' introducin' us to yer friends."

The smile that tugged at Jack's mouth was mostly mischief, but there was a good dose of nerves there as well. He leaned on his staff, looking up at Bunny through his bangs. "You sure, Cottontail? Most spirits," Jack's voice broke for a moment but he kept going, not trying quite as hard to hide it as he would have a year ago, "don't really approve of me, so my friends aren't exactly high-class, you know?"

"If they stuck by you, then they must be loyal at the very least," Tooth said.

Jack chuckled, still leaning on his staff. "Yeah, this could go really bad," he said, "but...if you really want to...while we're out and about."

"Have been...how do you say...cooped up for too long, as Bunny said," North replied, slapping Jack on the back, though gently. The hand lingered for a few moments longer before regretfully pulling away. "And perhaps they know more of Krampus, yes? More about what is going on with other spirits that we do not, focused as we are."

"Are you sure Krampus is up to something?" Jack asked, leaning into that hand before it was pulled away and frosting over when he realized what he'd been doing. "I mean, everything's been pretty quiet these past Christmases."

North shrugged expansively. "Just wanted to talk with him. Rumors were rather nasty. Fact that we cannot find him is not helping his case."

"And yet you haven't sent the yetis out after him yet," Jack teased.

North waved it off airily. "Yeti are busy. Not needed for small projects like this."

"You hear that, Bunny? I was a big project," Jack said teasingly. "And so was Easter."

They shared a conspiring grin as Tooth and Sandy hid giggles and North continued on, oblivious to the teasing to come. Bunny and Jack shared a quick grin, and then they were tag-teaming North the rest of the meeting.

* * *

Tooth and Jack were flying over someplace possibly near Russia (it was hard to say exactly where they were from up in the air when all that was below them was snow and trees) when they noticed someone waving from below.

If they hadn't been watching they likely wouldn't have seen the waver, as whoever it was wore clothing that blended into the snow, was pale and with hair as white as Jack's, calling up a faint halloo to them.

Tooth hesitated but Jack swung down towards the ground with a whoop, pausing when he noticed Tooth wasn't beside him.

"Come on," he called back. "You wanted to meet my friends!"

Tooth blinked, looking at the couple of her girls who had come along with her. They shrugged back but followed after Jack, and after a moment Tooth let out an excited giggle and followed, catching up to Jack in seconds.

They landed together, though Tooth barely brushed the ground, trying to look without staring at the spirit that had called them down.

"Tooth, this is Eirlys," Jack said, gesturing to the slight girl in front of him. "Eirlys, Queen Toothiana. Tooth is the Tooth Fairy, Eirlys is a Snegurochka," he added as explanation.

Eirlys gave Tooth a shy little curtsy, peeking at her from behind snowy white bangs as Tooth returned the greeting.

Eirlys was dressed in flowing white robes, trimmed in sky blue and with bits of white fur along the collar and cuffs, and her soft looking curls were topped with a small headdress, beaded and shaped to resemble a snowflake.

Quickly, Tooth ran over what she knew about the Snegurochka. There wasn't much, as they had only recently come into existence. Some were maidens made of snow and brought to life as daughters, while others were helpers for Christmas and the new year, she remembered, but that was just the most basic information.

"Big brother Jack, we've been looking for you," Eirlys was saying to Jack, and Tooth snapped back to full attention. Big brother...? She was going to have to ask Jack about this, after they were somewhere they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's been a busy couple of years," Jack said, scratching at the back of his head and grinning. "I'm a Guardian now!"

Eirlys smiled back, but it was clear she wasn't quite sure what Jack meant by 'Guardian'.

"We protect the children of the world," Tooth said when Jack looked to her. "Or at least, we try to. By protecting their wonder, memories, dreams, and hope. We've learned recently we haven't been doing as well as we could, thanks to Jack," she said, looking at Jack and reaching out a gentle hand towards him. Jack smiled back and leaned into the touch for a moment, while a range of emotions crossed Eirlys' face, brief anger flashing at the mention of protecting children, an anger that cooled at the confession that they weren't doing as well as they could.

There was a lot to uncover there, and no time. Perhaps yet, though...

"Something is wrong with the snow," Eirlys said after a moment. "It's been too harsh lately. It keeps everyone inside, and makes everyone who spends too much time in it bitter and angry. It has a taste of General Winter's magic," she finished, wringing her hands and looking around as if afraid the spirit would appear with the mention of his name. "And we've seen him, conjuring snow."

"I...I know you don't have as much time as you used to," Eirlys said, still wringing her hands and looking up at Jack pleadingly, "but we're scared, my sisters and I, big brother. We aren't strong enough to balance this wrong snow."

Jack looked over at Tooth, worrying at his staff. "I know North wants us to find Krampus, but I think I have to take care of this first," he said. "I can come find you afterwards."

"You're not doing this alone, Jack," Tooth said firmly, catching Jack's hood before he could fly off. "We're a team, remember? We take care of things together. Eirlys, can you tell us anything else?" she asked, still hanging onto Jack's hood lest he try and fly off without her but turning most of her attention to the snow maiden, who shrank into her coat at the fierce gaze. A moment later she firmed, thinking.

"I believe Olwen said she saw him first, but it was just a glimpse," she said slowly, taking the moment to consider what she said. "I can find her and ask her to show you where, but only in general. Olwen is still shyer than most of us and could melt easily if she gets upset. Eirwen said she saw someone with him, someone tall and dark. It looked like they had hooves and long horns."

"Krampus?" Tooth asked, and Eirlys, growing bolder as her brother continued to listen to this new spirit, shrugged, holding out her hands in a general gesture of helplessness.

"I wouldn't know," she admitted. "I've never seen Krampus, and I stay far from General Winter. I help with the snow and the new year, not Christmas in particular, and doesn't Krampus have something to do with the holiday?"

"He thinks he does," Tooth said bluntly. "Whether he does or not for sure we don't know. We – the Guardians – have been looking for him. North wants to talk to him. I think he's hoping we can integrate him back into Christmas without traumatizing the children or...well, things going wrong, basically."

"That...is very kind of Mr. St. North," Eirlys said with some surprise.

"Do you think you could come back with us to the Pole and tell the other Guardians what you and your sister saw?" Tooth asked. Eirlys flushed, her cheeks going blue, looking down at the snow and muttering something.

"Most of the Snegurochka can't go indoors," Jack said quickly, before Tooth could ask again. "Some of them were made of snow and it can be...well, unpleasant is a nice way to put it, if they get warm. Heat doesn't bother me," he said when Tooth glanced at him. "I'm not made of snow...I'm different altogether."

"I apologize," Tooth said to Eiryls, who accepted with a nod and a small smile.

"We can't all be as powerful as Jack," she breathed. Eirlys coughed softly, blushing again before speaking louder. "If you want to speak to us, Jack knows how to find us. Or you can try calling us while somewhere cold. Most people do not believe in us much anymore, so most of us cannot take the heat of the indoors. If we had more belief or were stronger, maybe, but for now...one can only accept their limits sometimes."

"We'd better head to the Pole ourselves and tell the others about this," Tooth said, snagging Jack's hood again when he tensed to take off, as she had let go during the conversation. "Together, Jack. You're not alone anymore, remember?"

"I...yeah. Right. I'm not," Jack said slowly, taking a deep breath. "Right. Thanks for telling us this Eirlys – can you girls keep listening? You're the first ones to have any clues. We'll let you know if we find something, too."

Eirlys beamed and nodded, and Jack hesitated a moment before giving her a quick hug. He took to the sky an instant later, calling back "Bet I'll beat you there!" back at Tooth as the Wind whipped him away.

"Your Majesty," Eirlys said softly as Tooth gathered herself to follow Jack. Tooth paused, looking back at the snow maiden questioningly.

"You can use my name," she said, equally soft. Eirlys flushed once more, a quick dash of pride, before she spoke.

"Toothiana...thank you. We worried for our big brother. He was always so lonely, even if he always laughed. He's happier now, already, though it may be hard to tell. Please, be patient with him."

Tooth paused in surprise, but smiled. "We will," she promised, and the words had weight to them, as the promise of a queen should.

Eirlys smiled back and faded into the snow. Tooth waited to see if there was more, but the patch of snow was still and silent. So with a soft "Farewell," she took off after Jack.

* * *

Jack had quite the lead on Tooth, so she wasn't surprised that he made it to the Pole first.

It wasn't by much, at least.

Tooth darted into the Pole to see Jack telling North what they had learned, and she hung back, letting Jack finish the story, nodding when North glanced over to her for her input.

North clapped Jack on the shoulder and headed off, calling for yeti and elves to take a message to Bunny and Sandy. Tooth fluttered closer as North gave directions to his helpers, secretly glowing when Jack didn't move away.

"So...big brother, hmm?" she asked, and the fairies still accompanying her chirped in agreeing, questioning chorus.

Jack blushed, which in his case more and more meant a red flush to his cheeks overlaid with his signature frost as his new followers gave him more and more life, and scratched at the back of his head. "Eh, Snegurochka have never been powerful, you know? Most of them are made of snow, so some spirits didn't even think of them as being really alive, and we were all winter spirits that nobody really cared about, so..."

Tooth's heart melted, and from the coos around her, so did her fairies'. She reached out and laid a hand on Jack's shoulder, smiling at him. "Jack, that's so sweet..."

"Also I may have accidentally then later on purpose helped a few 'Little Match Girls' change into Snegurochka," Jack added in a rush. " 'Cuz everybody picks on them and bosses them around like they're some kind of slaves and Snegurochka may not have much power but they're more powerful than Little Match Girls? I mean there weren't a lot of them to begin with and it wasn't easy and I'm not sure I could explain how exactly I did it but you're looking at me really funny right now and I'm going to stop talking now. So yeah."

Tooth blinked a few more times before taking a deep breath. "You...should probably talk to North about that," she said, adding quickly, "Not because it was a bad thing! But it was a powerful thing, and I haven't heard of that happening often, and..." she paused to smile reassuringly at Jack, and he returned the smile, still blushing faintly, "You two could spend a few days arguing the magic of it with each other. It could be fun. And you could find out just what you did."

Jack's uneasy smile grew, and to Tooth's vague surprise, he bumped his side against hers gently, pressed together for a moment from hip to chest. She knew she shouldn't be surprised – Jack was growing more and more comfortable with physical contact from all of them, and it was growing easier to see how hungry he'd been for it and how much more at ease he was now with letting them touch, with longer hugs and letting them touch his hair or rest hands on him longer and longer – but it still caught her off guard when Jack was the one to initiate the touch.

"Maybe...maybe I will," Jack said, "That sounds nice. I think I will," and while it wasn't a solid yes, it was still progress, still Jack agreeing to something in the future. "Actually, um, I've been meaning to ask..."

North re-entered the room in his usual, unintentionally loud fashion, and whatever Jack was about to ask was drowned out by the noise. Jack subsided, a bit grateful and a bit disgruntled, holding his peace. Even he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to ask.

'Hey, you all seem like you get along better than friends, is there something I should know about?' 'You guys touch a lot more than friends do, how come?' Yeah, because those would go over well, Jack thought sourly to himself. Better to wait until he had an idea of what exactly he wanted to ask – or more precisely, what he was asking about.

This whole thing with Krampus...and now, General Winter, according to Eirlys and her sisters...had managed to put Jack's growing feelings and confusion onto the back burner for now, but they hadn't gone away in the slightest. If anything, they were growing stronger all the time as the Guardians continued to worm past his lowered defenses and into his heart, which had always been hungry for people to love.

It was confusing at a time when Jack would like to concentrate, to find Krampus and General Winter and get it all taken care of so he could focus on finding answers to more personal questions.

"Message is sent," North said expansively. "Jack, Tooth, would like to write down any? In case you forget? Ah, no, apologies, Tooth, of course _you_ would not forget," North added immediately, grinning mischievously. "Come, have food while we wait. Was long flight, yes?"

"Ugh, yes, this whole living thing is awful," Jack complained. "I can't make half as many zombie jokes anymore, and I keep having to eat and sleep – it keeps cutting into mischief time!"

North laughed at the banter, as Jack had hoped he would, but Tooth didn't. "It's not...actually bothering you, is it Jack?" she asked. "I mean, we all thought it was a good thing..."

"It is, it is!" Jack reassured her quickly, floating backwards so he could look at her while they talked. "It's just taking some adjustments! And if I can't make my zombie jokes then I have to find something else to joke about."

"Nothing will stop zombie jokes," North grumbled from in front of them, but it was heavily overlaid with humor.

"You'll miss them," Jack said teasingly, and both hearts soared to hear that tone.

"Ah, almost forgot," North said, finger in the air as they entered the meeting room. "Have announcement of own to make. Was saving it for next meeting, but here is next meeting, come early!"

"Ooh, a surprise!" Jack said eagerly. "What is it?"

North waved an admonishing finger teasingly. "Is for all Guardians. Must be patient."

Jack groaned, loud and theatric, and flopped into his chair. "Waiting. Ugh."

Jack kept teasing and poking at North as they waited for the other two Guardians to arrive between bites of the food the yeti brought up, and North continued to parry the questions Jack threw at him.

Sandy floated in during the argument but was content to watch, highly amused, easily understanding that there was some kind of surprise. Bunny was the one who broke their contest with his much louder entrance, already complaining about the abrupt summons, though mildly.

Despite his distraction, Jack had to take a moment to admire Bunny's coat choice for the day, one with plenty of pockets and cut so he could still run easily. It looked...well, Jack was highly distracted for a moment before he forcibly redirected his attention.

"We found out information about Krampus," Jack said bluntly, cutting through Bunny's formulaic complaints. Usually by now he would tease Bunny back, but he wanted to know what the surprise was, so he needed the so-called important stuff out of the way.

Okay, Jack knew that Krampus was important, but it had been a long time since there had been any kind of pleasant surprise in his life, and he wanted to know what it was, right now!

"North has a surprise for us," Tooth fake whispered, loud enough to be heard by everyone, towards Bunny and Sandy. Sandy perked up eagerly while Bunny relaxed, suddenly seeming to understand Jack's impatience, ears perking and turning towards North.

"Right, tell us what ya found, so North can tell us his surprise afore he explodes," Bunny said, smirking as North grumped softly in the background.

"So, it started when we found a Snegurochka, who needed to tell Jack about a problem with the snow..." Tooth began.


	17. Chapter 17

The meeting room was silent as everyone digested what Tooth and Jack had told them, putting it all together.

"Okay, so General Winter's definitely up ta somethin'," Bunny finally said. "Yer sure this Olwen saw Krampus with 'im?"

"Olwen's really shy," Jack said defensively. "She doesn't like saying something unless she's really sure of it. So if she says she saw someone that looked like Krampus with General Winter, I believe her. She never said it was Krampus, he just matches Krampus' description."

"...fair enough," Bunny said after a second. "So, when were ya gonna tell us 'bout yer little sisters there Jackie?"

"Uh...after I was sure you weren't going to get rid of me?" Jack said, mostly to his staff. "It hadn't come up yet."

There was a collective wince around the table, and Jack took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, so I hadn't told you guys everything yet," he said, trying to play it off. "You haven't told me everything yet, so we're even. I'll tell you about the girls later. For now, come on North, quit holding out on us! What's the big surprise?"

"Already had one surprise," North scolded, mostly playful. "Jack has little sisters! Is very big surprise!"

"We couldn't really hang out that much," Jack mumbled. "I have things I need to do, and they're still pretty new, as spirits. Newer than me. 's not like we spent a lot of time together. Every time we tried somebody'd come and break it up."

"Well, as soon as people learn you're a Guardian now, they won't dare," Tooth said firmly. "It may take awhile, but the reputation should help. You could make a place for them, if you wanted."

She paused, after saying that. Jack...did he have a home? He'd never mentioned it, never shown it to them...but Jack looked thoughtful at the idea rather than pained. He nodded, once, smiling slightly to himself before glancing at Tooth from under his bangs.

"That...might be nice," he said hesitantly. "Can we talk about it later? Homes, that is." Tooth nodded, relieved. "North, the _surprise_?"

"Ah, so impatient!" North teased, eyes sparkling. "Was surprise to me, too," he added. "But message came in today, over moonbeams, but not from Manny. After all these hundreds of years, Katherine and Nightlight are finally healed enough to come home! Are on way already!"

Around Jack, the Guardians exploded with questions – where they really healed, when where they getting here, where would they live, Santoff Claussen had been gone for so long – while Jack curled up around his staff.

The Guardians, mostly North who loved to tell Jack stories of times before he had come, had spoken of Nightlight and Katherine before, though usually their stories trailed off near the end and they looked so pained Jack hadn't wanted to ask. He'd assumed something terrible had happened, and had hoped they weren't dead.

Well, it seemed they weren't. But what did their coming back mean for him, Jack? Katherine, Guardian of Imagination, Mother Goose with her Himalayan Snow Goose Kailash, big enough to ride just like the paintings though still a young woman rather than the grandmother they pictured on the books. Katherine with her stories and her kindness and quiet strength and her powers over stories...how could Jack's stories compete with that? Nightlight, the first Guardians, Guardian of Bravery...the stories made him and Jack sound so similar. Would they even need Jack around anymore when they had fun, mischief-loving Nightlight? Nightlight, who they'd shared much more time and so many more adventures with?

But he...also wanted to meet them? They'd been part of Santoff Claussen, the magical village of imagination and dreams, they had been Guardians since before there was such a thing as a Guardian, they had fought against Pitch the first time he came against the Guardians, helped them all to come together and become protectors of the earth. They sounded so amazing in North's stories...okay, so North could make just about anything sound epic, but...

What if they didn't like him?

There was a little part of Jack that insisted he was being silly. Well, maybe not with the worry about if Katherine and Nightlight would like him, that was a perfectly valid worry thank you very much, there were a lot of spirits out there that didn't like him for one reason or another – being Winter being a main part of it – and far fewer who did. But the Guardians had spent the last two years trying to convince him that they were sticking this out...they put up with a full year of his worst pranks ever rather than give up on him!

But what if. What if. It kept buzzing around his head, and it wouldn't stop.

The other Guardians hadn't noticed his silence in the buzz of excitement...or at least, that was what Jack thought, until there was a gentle brush against his elbow.

He looked over to see Sandy watching him, suddenly concerned.

"I..." he said, and swallowed, before deciding screw it, maybe he couldn't say all of it but he could voice some of it without sounding weird and jealous right? "It's a great surprise, Sandy! I guess I'm just worried they won't like me. I don't really have a great track record, ya know?"

Sandy's response would have been incomprehensible two years ago, but was clear to Jack now. _I can't answer for them. But we can hope. They will want to like you because we like you. If all three of you want to like each other, then it will be much easier._

"I...right," Jack said, uncertainly.

Bunny's ear flickered, joining in on the conversation. "Sandy's right, mate. Lots o' folks never gave ya a fair crack o' th' whip, us included. Might be awkward if'n we don't let 'em know there's a new Guardian, but I know they'll be surprised 'n happy." He raised a paw and waited until he was sure Jack had seen it before lowering it onto Jack's shoulder. Jack was a lot better about physical touch than he'd been a year ago, but it was still a good idea to let Jack know you were going for one. "Jes'...give 'em time. Nobody expects any o' ya ta...ta be best friends righ' away."

For a second, it felt like Bunny had been about to say something else, and Jack wondered just what it was. Sometimes it felt like the Guardians were holding something back, something they wanted to tell him but just weren't for some reason, and it made Jack worry. They all trusted him, right?

Of course they did. It was probably something they were nervous about, right? They'd tell him soon...or he'd have to ask them and things would be awkward again but at least he'd know.

Jack really hoped they'd tell him soon, if there really was something and he wasn't imagining it.

"Do you think you can get a message to them?" Tooth was asking North as Jack resurfaced from his thoughts. "Even if it's just a short one?"

"Could be possible, but still must be short," North said, stroking his beard in thought. "Connections still not as secure as could be. But have been gone long time. Much has changed. Surely will be expecting that not all is as they left it. As for when? Could be month, could be half year, could be week. Could not be more sure. Wish we could, but with connections not secured...well. Will try to get message to them. Am sure they will be very excited."

"How long have they been gone, again?" Jack asked.

North had to pause to think. "Ah, has been so long..."

"Around five hundred years," Tooth chimed in. "I was still leaving my palace then, remember? I only started going out less after they left."

"And then you didn't leave it for over four hundred years," Jack said softly. He hesitated before reaching out for Tooth. She leaned into his hand as he stroked her arm, humming briefly.

"Well, no, I didn't," she admitted. "But I have since you came!" she added, much louder and more brightly. "Oh! And it was so much fun when you all helped collect the teeth, I was hoping maybe after this whole thing with Krampus was cleared up we could do it again!"

Sandy beamed, holding two thumbs up, as the other three grinned.

"Sounds good to us, Toothie. Now, what about we use what you an' Jackie found so we kin take care of Krampus an' do that?" Bunny said, laying a paw across Tooth's shoulders.

"Come! To the Sleigh!" North cheered. "We go to find Snegurochka!"

"Wait, North! You gotta tone it down a bit!" Jack called, flitting after North as the man hurried off towards to Sleigh Bay.

The other three hesitated, giving each other proud glances that Jack was willing to shout at North like that, before the realization of The Sleigh sank in for Bunny.

"Jackie! Ah need ya ta tell me where ta meet ya, so I can do a tunnel!" Bunny called, loping after them, coat flapping behind him as he fell to all fours and was reminded of a major reason he stopped wearing them.

"Ah, Bunny, will be fine!" North called back over his shoulder. "No loop-de-loops this time, is promise!"

"Tha' doesn't change th' fact tha' it's flyin', North!" Bunny called back, exasperated. "Ya know I don' like heights!"

"I'm not really sure where Olwen will be," Jack said, clutching at his staff tightly. "She tends to hide. Olwen's really shy."

North paused, looking back at Bunny, before crossing the Sleigh Bay to lay a hand on Bunny's shoulder. "Will not go fast," he said reassuringly. "No flight tricks. But should stay together, da? Find little snow maiden together. Will not let you fall."

Forgetting Jack was watching for a moment, forgetting they were supposed to be keeping it on the down-low, Bunny pressed his paw to North's arm and dipped his head to press against North's wrist, inhaling the complex aroma that was North for the grounding of it. If his mate promised he wouldn't fall, that there would be no tricky flying, well, Bunny could believe it. This time.

North was easy to get riled up...Bunny had the bruises hidden under his fur, the good kind of soreness hidden away from still-clueless Jack, to prove it...but he could be trusted.

At least, until he got carried away. But the ride wouldn't be as wild as the last time...at first, at least.

Bunny still clutched at the wood as the Sleigh picked up speed, needing to go fast to get airborne.

He started as a chill hand slid into his, and glanced over to find Jack watching him rather than clinging to the side of the Sleigh and whooping, as Bunny had expected.

"We won't let you fall," Jack said. Sandy tapped Bunny's other shoulder and gave him a thumbs up when Bunny turned to look at him. Bunny felt a smile tugging at him mouth despite himself, and he squeezed Jack's hand.

"Ta, mate," he said softly, knowing Jack would hear him. The smile, soft and touched, that crossed Jack's face said he clearly had.

Jack turned to watch North drive the Sleigh, giving directions.

"Would be easier to hear directions if were up here," North called back over his shoulder. Jack hesitated, and Bunny squeezed his hand again before letting go.

"Go'n, Snowflake. I'll be fine back here."

Jack shot Bunny another grin, this one fond and a bit mischievous, before hurrying to take a spot next to North.

Tooth took Jack's spot, taking up Bunny's hand and watching them all fondly.

"It's all going so well," she said softly. "I love him so much already."

"Let's hope he takes th' whole marriage thing well," Bunny replied.

She boffed him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't be so negative, or I'll start panicking again," she said. She looked over at Jack wistfully as he and North bantered, much more comfortable with each other than they had been in a long time, a hand traveling to her mouth. "I'm not sure I could take losing him now."

"Us either, Toothie," Bunny said, squeezing her hand. "Us either."

* * *

They landed in a snowy field, devoid of life as even the birds had fled the descending Sleigh.

Jack hopped out of the Sleigh, floating overhead. "Stay here and keep warm," he said. "Olwen's probably hiding. I know where she lives, or at least where she tends to stick around, so I'll go see if she's home. I'll come grab you once I find her, but I might have to search a bit. Better to stay here than tramping through the snow, some of you aren't built for that," he added with a wink. Bunny snorted and shook a fist, but didn't argue, snorting out a laugh as Jack stuck out his tongue and whisked away.

Tooth shivered a little, pressing up closer to Bunny. "I know he meant that towards Bunny, but I'll still be happier when we're back at the Pole," she said quietly. Bunny pulled her in closer, letting her slip under his coat and snuggle against his fur.

"Prob'ly won't take the snowflake long," he said reassuringly.

"Longer than you would think," said a new voice from the trees, as the snow began to fall in their little clearing – and only in the little clearing.

Seconds later it was falling too hard and fast to see through, whipping around the Sleigh viciously. It was bitterly cold, the temperature dropping rapidly, as unlike Jack's gentle snowfalls as possible.

The snow whipped at them all, feeling more like tiny shards of ice than snow, tearing through fur and feathers and thick coats even as the Guardians cried out, throwing up hands to try and protect faces, trying to protect each other to no avail.

Over the screaming of the wind was the sound of cackling laughter, and it was the last thing the Guardians heard before everything went white.

* * *

Jack called out Olwen's name as he flew, keeping down low under the branches. It was odd that she wasn't responding, and Jack grew more wary the longer he had to search. It wasn't like Olwen to hide away from him, he was one of the few people she trusted.

Something dark flickered at the corner of his eye and Jack spun to face it, but there was nothing there. Cautiously he started flying again, though now he held his staff at the ready, and he began heading back towards the Sleigh.

Maybe he was just seeing things, but something was beginning to feel wrong in this forest. And while he wanted to find Olwen and be sure she was all right, something also told him he'd be better off with his team mates.

Sure, he was used to doing it alone, but...he didn't have to anymore. And it was time he started remembering that.

Jack picked up speed as he flew back to the Sleigh, only to stop so quickly snow flew up from his back draft as he hit the clearing where he had left the other Guardians and found it empty.

There were tracks from the Sleigh and the reindeer, half buried in the snow that blanketed the clearing with the tracks in the center, a crater in a mountain of snow. Without them Jack might have believed he had lost his way in the forest and kept searching, but they were there, clear to anyone who could read the snow.

With a sudden dread, Jack crouched to touch the snow, hissing softly as his fingers brushed against it. Harsh and bitter and deathly cold, this wasn't the snow he'd left his friends in.

This wasn't his snow, or even neutral, non-spirit snow. This felt like General Winter's snow.

There was a motion in the trees behind him, and Jack spun to face it, staff held low and ready.

He didn't recognize the spirit that stepped out from behind the trees. Whoever they were, they were tall, walking on cloven hooves and with two horns spiraling from their head. Their head was as goat-like as their horns, save for the sharp teeth clear in their grin, and they were covered in shaggy, dark fur.

Jack may not have recognized them, but he'd heard North describe him often enough to make a pretty accurate guess.

"Krampus," he said, and Krampus nodded once, slowly, the grin spreading, bearing those too sharp teeth.

"Looks like your friends have left without you," Krampus said, his voice like rocks grinding together.

Once, Jack might have believed that, that the Guardians would leave him in danger like everyone else had eventually, but not now. He knew better now.

Frost crackled around the tip of Jack's staff, ready to explode at a moment's notice. "Where are they?" he demanded.

Krampus continued to smile. "Aw, did the little winter spirit lose his little friends?" he asked mockingly.

He continued to smile even when Jack's staff was suddenly under his chin, forcing his head up and away.

"You were searching for me, didn't you think I'd find out?" Krampus asked, still mocking. "Why wait for you to do to me what you did to Pitch Black?"

"Pitch attacked us first," Jack snapped. "And North just wanted to talk to you! Now, what did you do?"

"Oh, this part wasn't me," Krampus laughed. "I'm just distracting you so there's plenty of time to get away." He smirked at Jack and stepped back, putting distance between the two of them. "General Winter wants to talk to you. The Guardians are so you'll show up. You don't, and I get to play with them. Come find us." With that, he stepped back into the shadows, form blurring until he disappeared.

Jack hesitated, watching the spot where Krampus had been. There was something off about how the spirit had disappeared...he shouldn't have been able to do that. Jack stepped forward cautiously, feeling ahead of himself – rushing into things had ruined Easter '12, and he wasn't willing to rush ahead again this time.

Something felt off about the shadow Krampus had stepped into, though it was fading. "Pitch..." Jack whispered, remembering how the Nightmare King had stepped into and out of shadows.

Either that was a skill that fear spirits shared, or Pitch was helping General Winter and Krampus. Somehow Jack doubted he was helping them...from the bits he'd picked up from the other Guardians, Pitch worked alone, and it was going to take him some time to recover from Easter '12, both in power and pride. Though that didn't discount Krampus somehow picking up Pitch's trick...Pitch had somehow figured out how to corrupt Sandy's dreamsand, after all.

There was no time to waste trying to figure out how Krampus did it. Jack needed to find the other Guardians, and fast.

But how? He dithered, hesitating in the snow. How was he supposed to find them in the entire...North! North had a spell to help him find the other Guardians, so the yeti could go fetch them for meetings!

With that thought in mind, Jack leapt into the Wind, shouting for it to hurry, and took off like a shot towards the Pole.


	18. Chapter 18

Bunny shook his head, feeling like he was forcing his way through a fuzzy blanket over his mind, and that was bad, wasn't it? He remembered snow, and even with fur like his you couldn't fall asleep in snow, that was...that was how you died in winter, and Tooth, she couldn't...

With a gasp, Bunny came the rest of the way awake, ears swiveling as he searched for Tooth and North and Sandy. His ears picked up the sound of breathing, identified it as Tooth and North and Sandy, and some small part of him relaxed.

Breathing was good. Breathing meant alive, and they could do a lot with alive.

But what about Jack? Bunny strained but he could hear anything of Jack, couldn't smell anything of Jack, though he could smell the other three clearly.

Okay, don't panic yet, Bunny reminded himself. Jack wasn't at the Sleigh when that freak snowstorm hit, he could still be in the woods.

Bunny sat up and his ears drooped, biting back a few choice words. Then, after a moment, he let them lose anyway, because this was bad.

Tooth and North and Sandy were still unconscious, but all of them were inside a cage formed of thick ice, which explained the chill still biting through Bunny's fur even with the coat. The cage holding them all was inside a shallow valley made of more ice and snow, one Bunny didn't recognize.

"Such language!" a voice Bunny didn't recognize scolded, and he spun to find the source. "And from someone who is supposed to protect children, no less!"

Bunny's ears laid back as he turned and spotted the two spirits. The tall, dark, furry, horned one he recognized as Krampus, mostly from the pictures he'd dug up in North's books.

The other was a man – or human shaped, at least, like a fit man of middle age, his hair gone white and grey, in a severely cut, military styled uniform, like something from the old Soviet Union if Bunny had any guess, but styled in blues rather than tans.

Frost and snow had settled on the uniform in the form of epaulettes and what looked, at first glance, to be fur but was more snow covered in a layer of frost, not smooth frost but jagged, spiky frost.

The man clicked his heels together and gave a short, mocking bow to Bunny, smirking. "General Winter," he said. "I would say it's a pleasure, but we both know I'd be lying."

Behind him, Bunny could hear the other three waking, if slowly. Bunny just hoped they were going to be okay – it was cold in here, but hopefully not too cold for North and Tooth.

"Wha's this all about?" Bunny demanded. After learning about Jack and the why behind Easter of '68, Bunny had decided to try and be more patient with other spirits, but this was the spirit _actually_ responsible for '68 and who had trapped them all in a cage of ice, so Bunny figured that resolution could bugger off.

General Winter continued to smirk as Krampus shrugged. "Eh, the usual," he said. "If no one will appreciate what I do when they have another option, simply remove that option. Children will have to believe in me and appreciate what I bring when there's no alternative."

Bunny stared at him blankly. "Don' you...bring switches fer bad kids?" he said slowly. "An' sometimes whip 'em yerself? But nuthin' fer good kids?"

Krampus straightened in pride. "See? You've already heard of me."

"...tha's not how it works," Bunny finally said, mind still blank at the absurdity of what he'd heard. Maybe if the kids had never known being rewarded for good behavior it would be more reasonable, but... "Ya can't jus' punish kids an' expect 'em ta love ya."

"I don't want to be loved, just believed in," Krampus hissed. "A few countries isn't enough. You're greedy and took it all!"

"Belief ain't a finite resource," Bunny snapped back. "Ugh, this is exactly why we were lookin' fer ya! North wanted ta try an' bring ya back so ya wouldn't be left out but nooo, gotta do this, don' ya?"

Krampus faltered, looking at Bunny with an expression made more unreadable by his goatlike face. "He...did?" Krampus said, disbelieving. Then his face hardened, and he snorted. "As if I would believe what you say now. It doesn't matter. I've tried your way, and children never want me when they can have his presents. Having children believe in me in a few countries isn't enough anymore."

Bunny's ears laid flat as he glared at Krampus. "An whatta you after?" he demanded of General Winter, who had been watching their exchange with some amusement.

General Winter shrugged, waving an elegant hand. "Oh, where's the fun if I tell you everything now? Krampus here may like getting it all out on the table at once, but I prefer to play things closer, as it were."

"...Seriously?" Bunny said. He rubbed at his face with a paw, already at the end of his patience with deliberately evasive spirits. "Ya knock us out w' a freak blizzard, kidnap us, terrify a bunch a' other spirits, an' ya have ta be all evasive about it?"

General Winter hummed, neither committal or dismissive, as he considered what Bunny had said with more intensity than Bunny felt it really deserved. Pretentious old schlanger, was probably enjoying this, thinking he had Bunny on edge and worried.

Well, it was damn cold in here, but the others were waking up, and this old coot wasn't anything on Pitch Black.

"It seems my associate here isn't the only one with a bit of an argument with a Guardian," General Winter finally said, as Krampus rolled his goat-like eyes and muttered, "Here he goes again."

General Winter gave Krampus a quick glare, which the Christmas spirit ignored. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." he said, giving Krampus anoter look, still soundly ignored, "But I would like to address your taste. Jack Frost, really? A Guardian? Hardly an attractive choice in spouse, now is he? Appearance or power wise."

"Powerful enough," Bunny snapped, hearing the others finally awake behind him, confused but getting an idea of the situation quickly. "Ah heard how you went runnin' back in '68."

General Winter snarled, the urbane facade dropping as he struck at the bars of the cage surrounding the Guardians. They reverberated like struck glass, and if the other Guardians hadn't been awake yet they would have been now.

"That little upstart should never have the power he has," General Winter snarled, the temperature taking a sharp plummet. "He's done nothing, just a brat who frosts things and makes plants ripen. Why should _he_ have such power? Well, no more! I'm going to have my revenge for '68 and all those years of everyone thinking that was Frost's work! I will prove once and for all who is the more powerful winter spirit, and finally we can cease these ridiculous gentle winters and everyone will remember why they _feared_ winter!"

"That's tha reason fer all this?" Bunny said blankly. "Tha's why you...? Oh fer fuck's sake..." he buried his face in his paws and wished for a brief moment he'd stayed logical and unemotional, if only so he could argue coherently instead of just wanting the throttle the smug, furious spirit on the other side of the bars.

General Winter backed away from the bars, the temperature raising again, not particularly comfortable but better than it had been during his rant. He took a deep breath, straightening his coat.

"Well, we'll see who's the more powerful spirit now," he said, still glaring angrily. "With no one to teach him magic and no one willing to put up with him, I doubt he's gotten any better since '68. This should all be over quickly. " With that dramatic speech over, General Winter turned with an equally dramatic flare of his coat and stalked off.

Krampus rolled his eyes but followed. He smirked once, looking back at the cage. "Say, wasn't Jack Frost on the Naughty List? We all know what happens to spirits on the Naughty list..."

* * *

Bunny found himself rolling his eyes after they were gone before looking back at his spice, finally rising from where they had been pretending to still be unconscious. "I dun' like that guy," he drawled, rewarded with snorts from Tooth and North and a smirk from Sandy. "An' Jack's not on th' Naughty List anymore, Krampus can't touch 'im wi' that. Right?"

North nodded firmly before pausing and shrugging, a pained expression crossing his face.

"Now what?" Tooth asked, coming up to lay a hand on Bunny's shoulder. The cage was too low for her to fly comfortably – just barely tall enough for North to stand upright, and only by an inch at most – so she was forced to walk, and Bunny was fairly sure it wasn't deliberate but it was another insult for General Winter to pay for.

" 'm not sure," Bunny replied. He reached up and pulled Tooth closer, nuzzling at her head feathers. "Guess it's time ta start thinkin'. Afore Jackie ends up flyin' inta a trap."

* * *

Jack made better time to the Pole than he ever had before, and his face stung from windburn when he finally dropped onto the balcony.

He'd deal with it later. For now...he needed to find Phil or Greta, they seemed to be the closest North had to a second-in-command around here.

Unfortunately, from this high up, all the yeti looked like masses of fur in various shades of brown and grey, and it was almost impossible to tell who was who.

Jack grabbed at a passing yeti, who paused, looking down at him in surprised confusion – even this long after joining the Guardians, Jack still didn't initiate contact often.

"I need to find Phil, or Greta," Jack said quickly. "It's an emergency. Where...?"

Maybe it was his tone, or his demeanor, the way he was frosting over with distress, the fact that he'd been acting as a full-blown Guardian since the talks, but the yeti Jack had grabbed didn't dismiss Jack or act skeptical, taking him and his worries as seriously as he would take them from an older Guardian.

He gabbled out words Jack only just understood, hurrying off towards the last place he'd seen the yeti Jack wanted as Jack hurried along behind him.

Jack was lucky – Phil and Greta were having some kind of informal meeting when the yeti he'd accosted found them, and they both looked up in surprise at the intrusion, the yeti babbling out that there was an emergency.

Jack hurried in close, and Phil and Greta surrounded him. "I don't want everyone to panic," he said, "but the others are missing. There was...I don't know, something happened, I had to leave them and when I came back they were gone, and there was a lot of snow in the clearing but it wasn't mine, and North said there was a way to find each other?"

Phil nodded rapidly, grabbing Jack's arm and rushing off towards the globe's controls. Greta followed them closely, and Jack was thankful when Phil let him go, though he kept the thought to himself, watching as Phil flicked switches and buttons on the globe's control panel.

"What...?" he asked. Greta began to explain as Phil kept going – the globe would show them the general area, she said though the thick yeti dialect, and then there was a smaller globe they would use to pinpoint them closer.

Phil let out a victorious grunt, pointing to a spot on the globe that was flashing, slowly strobing though colors, red to green to purple to gold, and turned to grunt and grumble over his shoulder to Jack.

It was a bit difficult to understand, but Jack got the idea – the colors were changing because all four Guardians were at the same place, so all four of their colors were overlapping.

Greta quickly turned the smaller globe she was holding, keeping it low enough for Jack to see what she was doing. Pulling at the surface with her fingers brought the spot where the lights now faded into each other on her globe into closer focus.

The lights weren't near any major landmarks, anything Jack could name, something he could call out to one of North's snow globes.

Greta began to explain, going slowly to be sure Jack understood every word. "Take the globe with you," she explained, slowly, in yeti, "and keep doing this as you get closer. It will lead you to them."

"Who is going with you?" Phil asked, just as slowly, and Jack was grateful they were accommodating him even as he wished he were better at yeti so they wouldn't have to go slow like this.

On the floor, three of the elves stood tall and saluted, hoisting toy pop guns over their shoulders. Jack found himself chuckling for the first time since the other Guardians had disappeared, kneeling down to their level.

"Not sure that's gonna help, little guys," he said, a stray thought striking him as the elves began to droop. "Or maybe..."

The elves brightened again with hope as Jack stood and twisted to look at Greta and Phil. "So my first thought is to go it alone and see what's up," he said. "And I still want to, but everyone keep saying how I'm not alone anymore. So I'm wondering..."

* * *

Bunny was pacing to keep warm, though he would start to overhead in his coat only after pacing a few circuits. But stopping meant he cooled down.

Tooth was doing the same, though it was difficult in the close quarters not to smack one of the others with her wings. Finally Bunny took off his coat and gestured Tooth closer, wrapping her up in the coat. She couldn't reach a weapon that way, would be slower, but at least she'd be warm and not get sick from the cold.

Sandy didn't notice the cold, not really, and North was bundled in his own huge coat...the one with the white trim, to show they were being peaceful, rather than his black-trimmed coat he used for fighting. So much for sending signals.

Bunny had thought he was good at telling time, but stuck in this cage, without being able to get at the ground, unable to see the sun or even get a good look at the shadows, what with the ice refracting the light all around them...he was beginning to get a little worried.

Spirits shouldn't have been able to be affected by cold, but they were, and they were too powerful for it to kill them or get really sick, but they could be pretty miserable if they didn't get warmed up soon...and who knew exactly what General Winter and Krampus were planning for when Jack got here.

Krampus didn't seem to care much about what happened with Jack, so long as he got the belief he wanted, but he might help General Winter out of spite or some vague alliance, and no matter how powerful Jackie was, that wasn't going to be fair.

They could very well end up losing Jack before they'd ever really gotten to know him, before they'd gotten him comfortable enough with them to tell him everything!

Bunny buried his face in his paws, hunching down on himself. He started when North's warm hand stroked his shoulder, glancing up at North as the huge man settled down beside him.

"Must think of plan," North said quietly. He fingered his sabers, still strapped to his waist under his coat. Why General Winter hadn't taken them while they were unconscious...probably pride, to show how unafraid he was. Well, he was going to pay for that as soon as he was in reach. "For when Jack does show up, to try and get free."

"I been trying," Bunny said back, "But th' ice is too thick, I can't feel th' ground. Can't warm it up any here neither, it's too cold an' it's meant ta be cold."

He huffed out a breath, snorting at it irritably when it came out as steam, though that just steamed more. "Dun even have a good idea o' how long we been in here, light's all wrong," he added. "But I dunno how much longer we ken stay. Spirits or not."

North glanced up at a spot of motion and shifted, his free hand falling to a saber hilt. "May not have to wait much longer," he said ominously, and the other Guardians twisted to see.

There, against the white snow, they could make out a small form, from here only colors – blue and brown.

Jack was coming.


	19. Chapter 19

Jack followed the directions displayed on the little globe Greta had given him, traveling much slower than he wanted to. He wanted to rush and hurry and find the other Guardians (who he hadn't wanted to admit were so, so important to him, even if he wasn't quite sure how yet, was still working on being able to let them touch him, but were still _important_ ) before something bad could happen to them. But if he did rush, he'd learned before the hard way, then it was all going to go wrong. He'd overshoot, or go into the situation without seeing what was going on beforehand, and he'd have to waste time fixing what he'd done wrong in the rush.

But the globe, though slow, was zooming in the closer he got to the Guardians, more accurate by the mile. Jack had no clue what waited for him there, but he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good. They wouldn't have left him on purpose, so something had to take them...and something powerful enough to take the Guardians wasn't something he wanted to face, but it looked like he was going to have to, if he wanted his...coworkers? Friends? He thought of them as friends but sometimes his heart would give a little jump and he'd find himself wishing for more even though he shouldn't, it was enough they were willing to be friends with him.

Jack wished he had more of a plan. He'd never really planned what he was going to do before this beyond a basic outline, but before, the most he'd had to worry about was a storm going out of control, and that he could (usually) handle before it got too bad, barring outside interference. But this time? With the possibility of the lives of his friends being at stake?

Jack really wished he had more of a plan, or at least an idea of what he was getting into besides 'Krampus'. Because Krampus didn't have powers over snow. And Krampus wasn't the one the Snegurochka had been afraid of.

Okay, so probably General Winter then, at some point, but...no more time to speculate, as something made of ice glittered in the sun a half mile away at most, right where the little globe said the Guardians were.

Right. So. If they were there...they were probably trapped in the ice, right? Oh he hoped it was just a cage or something, he didn't think being trapped literally in ice would be healthy for Bunny or Tooth or North, Sandy would probably be fine but...okay worry after he'd seen them.

But this was a trap. This was some sort of trap, even if it didn't make sense, since he was the least powerful out of all of them.

Maybe...whoever set this up hadn't thought they'd come for Jack? No, that was wrong, Jack realized almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Whatever it was, he wasn't going to find out hovering here and thinking. He was getting his...he friends, his teammates, he thought there might be something going on between some of them but he had no idea what but they were something to him, something Important, and he was getting them out of there and back to the Pole to warm up so help him.

His doubts about if this were General Winter or Krampus' doing were put to rest as something long, thin, and black whipped around his waist, yanking him violently down to the ground, and a shower of sliver thin ice shards embedded themselves in the ground around Jack, ripping through hoodie and pants in the few seconds Jack had before he could throw up a blast of Wind, deflecting the rest.

Damn it, he'd kept these pants this long only to lose them to this? It was a ridiculous thought with blood seeping from the few cuts he'd gotten (and dammit he wasn't so thrilled with being alive right at the moment when it meant he could bleed, meant he wasn't going to be as impervious to pain as he'd been during the fight with Pitch).

"Dick move," he muttered under his breath as he stood up quickly, staff at the ready, as two forms stepped in front of him from behind the nearby rocks. "Ooo, dramatic entrance."

Jack recognized the first spirit as General Winter and the other as Krampus, solidifying his earlier theory. For whatever reason, the two spirits were working together. General Winter was puffing himself up, ready to monologue, and Jack glanced around, ready to tune most of it out.

There didn't seem to be anyone else here, friend or foe, save the Guardians, too far off for him to reach and free yet. He just needed a distraction...it may have been General Winter's ice, but it was still ice, and he could do something about that.

Jack kept an eye on the two spirits as he slowly reached into his pocket. He hadn't thought to use any of this against Pitch – the boogeyman was too strong for most of it anyway, even when he was weakened from a lack of belief – but against spirits like Krampus and General Winter, who had pockets of belief and weren't as powerful...? Worth a shot.

Jack tuned back in to General Winter's rant – if nothing else, it'd be nice to know what the hell was going on. After listening for a bit, though, it was getting harder and harder to believe what he was hearing.

Being furious with him over Jack being Winter? Jack was more Fall if you asked him – he had to make sure everything ripened, he had to change the colors of the leaves, sure he did Winter but it wasn't his fault he was the most powerful Winter spirit!

Okay, so apparently General Winter was embarrassed about running off during Easter of '68, Jack noted as the other spirit continued talking. Jack held back from attacking just yet – there was still a chance he could talk his way out of it. Talking his way out of it usually confused other spirits enough that he could get away without a fight, since most Winter spirits attacked first and didn't talk.

"Right, so that's why you're doing...what? Kidnapping the Guardians? Why'd you bring them into this if you're after me?" Jack asked when General Winter was finally done – or had paused for breath, Jack hadn't been really paying that much attention. "Did you watch too many melodramas or something to go straight to kidnapping?"

Both General Winter and Krampus looked at Jack like he'd grown a second head, and he glanced around to be sure no one else had shown up. "What? Is there paint in my hair or something? Those elves of North's, they'll get you every time."

General Winter glared at him. "That attitude is why you are not fit to be the Spirit of Winter," he snapped. "You're too frivolous by half, boy. After we finish destroying you, my associate will devour what remains of you. Then someone deserving can take on the mantle of Winter."

Krampus licked his lips with a tongue that snaked out far longer than a tongue had any right to be, and it sent a shiver of disgust down Jack's spine.

"You've been on the Naughty List for so long...your flesh will be exceptionally sweet," Krampus groaned.

Jack blinked. "Okay, first off, North didn't mention you eating kids. Gonna have to object to that on principle. Second, not a kid, so I shouldn't have been on the List in the first place. Third, North wiped that clean."

Krampus shrugged, and closed his hands into fists in front him. As he drew his fists apart, chain appeared between them, thick and heavy and well used. "Doesn't matter. Child or not, spirit or not, wiped clean or not, you were on the list however briefly, and that makes you my prey. A spirit as powerful and irreverent as you should be more delicious than the most ill-behaved child."

"North, talking to Krampus was possibly your worst idea _ever_ ," Jack called, pitching his voice into the wind to carry to the cage. Vaguely he could see North gesturing and knew he'd been heard and he smirked. Faintly, all three spirits heard North's reply.

" _Not true! Have had worse ideas!"_

" _Not something to brag about, Nicholas!"_ They heard Bunny snap back, and Jack didn't bother to hold back the snickering.

If General Winter had been angry before, now he was near incandescent with fury.

With a roar and a whipping wave of his arm, he shot a flurry of ice shards, each as long as his hand and sharp as a dagger, at Jack. Jack slammed the butt of his staff into the ground, sending out a burst of wind, deflecting the shards, those outside its range clattering harmlessly to the ground.

The wind wasn't enough to counter the chain Krampus flung towards him in the shards' wake, wrapping around Jack once, twice, three times, pinning his arms to his sides.

Jack jerked away immediately, reflexively, as Krampus yanked on the chain. There was a brief struggle, Krampus pulling, Jack resisting, before Jack could feel himself starting to be dragged towards Krampus. Magically, Jack could hold his own he knew, but when it came to physical strength...Jack was a stick and he knew it.

So he only resisted for a few more seconds before flinging himself towards Krampus. Jack twisted as he flew, slamming into Krampus and untwisting from the chain.

Krampus was too big and sturdy for Jack's slight frame to topple even with Krampus' own momentum behind it, but the Christmas spirit was off balance from the unexpected release of tension and stumbled, giving Jack the chance to go airborne again.

Jack's hand shot back into his pocket, digging briefly among all the things he kept in there. Sticks and small bones, packets of this and that, all bundled up into folk magic and spells based on current culture that was more powerful than the big spirits would believe. They underestimated it just like they underestimated Jack for his slight build and seemingly small powers.

Time to see if Krampus and General Winter had made the same mistake.

* * *

Bunny slammed his foot into the ice bars again, making the cage sing and creak but not breaking the ice. He cursed, soft but vehement, as the force sent him staggering back, caught by North before he could fall.

"Still won't break," he cursed, shaking out the leg he'd used. It throbbed, like he'd kicked rock instead of ice, but he'd be fine soon enough. "We gotta get out there, I dunno if Jackie can handle this himself!"

Sandy had a saw of dreamsand already conjured, industriously going at the bars. He was making progress, but slow, too slow, Bunny's heart freezing and Tooth gasping as Jack only just dodged a shower of ice shards thrown by General Winter, leaving himself open to Krampus' chains.

They couldn't see Jack from here, the bulk of Krampus hid him from their view, but Bunny could have cheered when Krampus staggered back and Jack shot into the air, untangling himself from that chain. Behind Bunny, North did give a little cheer.

But even with Jack in the air, they couldn't make out what he was doing. They were just too far. Good for them, in that General Winter and Krampus couldn't threaten them from that distance, but bad since they couldn't help Jack from this distance.

Then Jack threw something at the ground, something that exploded into snow tentacles to the screaming shock and anger of General Winter and Krampus, and the Guardians had to pause to stare. The tentacles reared up and tangled around the pair, holding them in place as Jack drifted back to the ground.

"Uh, did you know he could do that?" Bunny hissed to North.

North, for his part, was watching with wide, sparkling eyes and mischievous grin. "No, but want to find out how he did it!"

"...you know, if we weren't terrified for him, Jack being this good at this would be kind of hot," Tooth commented.

The other three let out various noises of agreement.

* * *

Back on the battlefield, Jack wasn't bothering to suppress his smirk. Pissing people off meant that their attacks were stronger sometimes, but it also meant that they weren't thinking as clearly.

General Winter, Jack was pretty sure he could take. He was more powerful than the General, at least. But General Winter played dirtier than even Jack did, and that was saying a lot when both General and Krampus were tied up in tentacles at the moment.

They weren't going to last much longer, and they were a drain on Jack's magic, even though he had modified the spell (cribbed shamelessly from a roleplay book) to use his winter powers. And Jack...well, he'd learned early on what happened when he tried to fight more than one spirit at a time, especially when he didn't know both spirits.

That was why he'd come with a plan.

Jack dug the spare snow globe out of his pocket and whispered his destination into it, tossing it behind him as the tentacles finally dissolved, shredded by Krampus' chain and General Winter's ice.

And yeti and elves poured through, yelling war cries (or, in the elves' case, vaguely threatening gibberish) while waving weapons (or random toys...one elf was holding a teddy bear by a hind leg and waving it threateningly over its head).

General Winter and Krampus both froze, shock and confusion painting their features.

Apparently, the fact that Jack was now a Guardian and therefore might have backup hadn't occurred to them.

Meanwhile, the elves were too small and fast for Krampus' chains or General Winter's ice, and underfoot too much for them to manage to catch their feet and aim for the yeti, piled onto the two spirits as the yeti charged.

Jack rushed off for the Guardians as the yeti swarmed the pair. He skidded to a stop just outside the cage, hooking his staff onto one of the bars to stop.

It was the one Sandy had been working on, and it split, cracking up the sides and shattering.

It was enough for Sandy and Tooth to slip out, and Jack grabbed the bar beside it. The ice sparkled in his hand before turning to snowflakes and drifting away, leaving an opening big enough for Bunny and – with a little careful maneuvering – North.

Immediately North swept Jack up into a hug, one Jack savored, because it meant North was warm, and solid, and alive.

Jack was placed down on the snowy ground almost too soon, but he didn't have time to complain as he was swept up in quick hugs by the other Guardians, one after the other.

He was a little touch drunk when Bunny released him, combined with the fading adrenaline of the fight.

""Callin' in the yeti," Bunny said with amusement. "Who'd'a thunk."

Jack turned to look over his shoulder at the fight behind them, the victorious cries of the yeti still ringing over the snow. The cries turned to horror as General Winter broke free, charging towards Jack and the other Guardians with a scream of rage and murder in his eyes.

North reached for his sabers, drawing them quickly, but Jack was quicker.

He whipped his staff around and shot, frost lightning crackling across the short plain between the two Winter spirits.

And General Winter froze solid.

He clinked to the ground, a statue of ice, and Jack froze as well.

He'd never done such a thing before. He'd just seen a threat to...his people, his family...and he'd reacted. Jack had reacted without thinking, and now...

Bunny crouched in front of Jack, holding his shoulders. "Jackie, Jackie look at me. Come on, deep breaths now."

Jack obeyed, but he still glanced around Bunny's shoulder to see General Winter still lying where he had fallen. Krampus had stopped fighting, solidly piled on by a good dozen yeti, and was staring at Jack.

As was everyone else, shocked at the show of power.

North was the first to make a move. "Let us get back to Pole," North said quietly, laying a gentle hand on Jack's back. "Better to talk there than here. Must get warm, as well."

Jack nodded, slowly, still staring at the statue of General Winter before turning away, still with Bunny's warm paw on his shoulder. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

* * *

A/N: This chapter. This chapter did not want written. I wanted folk magic, I couldn't find any and had to go full D&D. Fight scenes. Argh. Still need to find folk magic I apologize for the missing update. I had a death in the family, then two days later (day I should have updated) got hit with some kind of virus that wiped me out utterly. Threw up so much I thought I was going to turn myself inside out.


	20. Chapter 20

Jack was quiet on the way back to the Pole, as was Krampus.

Krampus was hustled off immediately, still surrounded and held tight by yeti. He was also still quiet, as if shocked by the turn events had taken.

The Guardians themselves were bundled off by the yeti much more gently, and all five soon found themselves in one of the deeper family rooms, piled into blankets and with mugs of hot chocolate or cider.

It was a little warm for Jack, but he relished it anyway. Warmth was still something to cherish after so long outside in the cold.

They were all quiet, soaking in the warmth and easing aches from the cold and the kidnapping and the fight that hadn't registered until now.

The silence slowly turned from comforting to oppressive, and the four older Guardians glanced at each other, not sure what to say or who should speak first.

Bunny finally spoke, asking, "First kill, Jackie?" gently, and Jack nodded, still mute, hunched into his blankets and gripping his cups with a white knuckled grip, as if what he'd done was finally catching up with him. "Ah, c'mere." He opened his blankets, inviting Jack to cuddle up against him.

To their mild surprise, Jack took the invitation. It was still a bit of a surprise when Jack accepted physical comfort – though he did take his blanket to keep his chill away from Bunny, despite being almost room temperature by now.

"I've been challenged before," Jack said softly once they were settled again. "But it never ended like that."

"Yer luckier than most," Bunny said quietly. "It's been a long time since anyone tried fighten' one of us, 'cept fer a couple 'o others a long time ago, and Pitch, but I'd heard about how hard some spirits'll fight fer power."

Jack looked up at Bunny though his bangs, pulling his blanket a little tighter. "So...I'm not getting kicked out of the Guardians for it?" he asked.

The chorus of denials that met his question, small as it was, outraged and indignant and protesting as they were, eased Jack's posture, and he leaned more heavily against Bunny.

"Well, there's that worry taken care of," he muttered into Bunny's fur. Bunny ran a hand over Jack's hair, dislodging bits of ice that had stayed from the fight and had yet to melt before squeezing him tighter. "I mean, there's a lot more, but..."

"We got ya, ain't gettin' rid of us that easy."

* * *

It took Jack a bit of time to come to terms with what he'd done.

Or to be more precise, to come to terms with how little guilt he felt at times over it. He felt guilt for taking a life, regret for what he'd done, finding himself staring off into space and replaying that moment over and over and wondering what he could have done differently, but he couldn't regret saving his family. He'd known General Winter for a long time, had gone up against him more than once, had heard the stories and had the close calls and knew what the General would have done if he'd had more time.

If he'd gotten to the Guardians.

It lessened the guilt, made it more bearable. And sticking close to the Guardians helped even more.

Maybe he was being a little clingy. Maybe he was still all churned up about just what he was feeling for the Guardians and trying to work his way through that.

It would help if he remembered what it felt like to love somebody romantically. Jack did know he cared about them and there was a great hollow pit where his stomach had been when he thought about them getting hurt.

It was definitely a start.

* * *

On the one hand, Jack was still feeling guilty about killing General Winter, and so they needed to back off a little out of respect.

On the other hand, that show of power, unexpected as it was, had been ridiculously sexy, and keeping the attraction on the down low was suddenly quite a bit more difficult.

Especially with Jack hanging around them even more constantly than he had before, keeping them within sight and seemingly content to just be in their company.

They were all slipping up and showing Jack more affection than they had meant to, they were sure, but he didn't seem to notice or mind if he did.

Then it was time for the seasons to turn, and this year, Jack invited them to tag along.

"Since North was all curious about just what I do," Jack excused the invitation, swinging his staff lightly as if he didn't care if they came along or not. "I know you all think I just goof off all the time, but I do have stuff to do, and I got to see all your jobs, so...?"

"The girls can handle things for a little while," Tooth said with a smile. "Jack, we'd love to see what you do."

"Even you, Bunny?" Jack asked, leaning on his staff and glancing up at Bunny, a touch shyly. "I know you're not too big on Winter."

"Only when it sticks around out o' it's season," Bunny protested. "Winter's important too. Just never seemed like as much work as Spring. Love ta see ya prove me wrong, Snowflake. Why, some other spirits get atcha already?"

"Eh, you about covered the big point," Jack said, ducking his head. "That and the whole, you know, Winter equals death thing. Good thing there's not that many seasonal spirits or we'd be in real trouble, huh?"

"Probably. Now come on, Jackie," Bunny said, fluffing up his winter coat, which had come in thick and fluffy thanks to all the time spent outside the Warren this year in Jack's company as the weather cooled, and which all four older Guardians couldn't keep their hands out of when Jack wasn't looking (his normal coat was soft and sleek, but this was so much softer), "show us how Fall gets going."

* * *

Fall got going very energetically, as it turned out. Much less ' _Fantasia_ – dancing – fairies' and more 'highly energetic game'. Which they really should have been expecting, they considered.

But even with Jack's shortcuts – like using a magic snowball as a ball and his staff as the bat to turn whole sections of the forest's leaves colors in one swoop – it was more work than they'd expected.

Lots of fun, and they all got caught up in it as much as they did the tooth collections, but a lot of work. Changing the colors of the leaves, ripening plants, adding the personal touch to frost...there was more involved than they had thought.

"...can't resist, can ya," Bunny commented as Jack added personal touches to the frost to a child's window, this one of a unicorn. Jack grinned at him, unrepentant.

"Like you would," he shot back. "Just wait until they post that one online."

* * *

Jack was a little shifty when they were finished, finding themselves at the edge of Burgess, on the edge of the pond that Jack had told them he had died in.

It was a little unsettling, now that they knew what had happened here, to know how many kids still played on and in and around the pond, despite how casual Jack was about it.

Either Jack really didn't mind or it hadn't sunk in, as he obviously had something else on his mind.

"So, you guys showed me your homes...I guess I out to return the favor," Jack said, staff slipping from one hand to the other. "It's just...compared to what you guys have...well, I made an ice palace down in Antarctica, but I don't _live_ there, I just hide out there sometimes when it gets hot and I get tired of sticking around where it's warm, but it's way too cold there for any of you, and..."

"I'm sure your home is lovely, Jack," Tooth said quickly, stemming the flow of nervous words. "We've had quite a bit more time than you have to create our homes, and a lot of help and magic. Mine was even started for me. It's a bit much, really, if I didn't need the storage space."

Jack tilted his head before they saw him remember. "Oh, yeah, the...yeah," he said, avoiding saying the name of Toothiana's lost species at the last moment. "Well, it might be a bit of a squeeze, but...we're here, so...I might as well, I guess."

"You live in pond?" North asked, looking at the clear water licking the edge of his boot doubtfully.

Jack snickered and pointed to the small cliff lining one side of the pond. "Up in here, come on," he said, floating up. "Hold on, I have a rope ladder in here...not a lot of room to store something bigger, I don't exactly get a lot of guests."

None of them could see anything on the cliff face until Jack pushed aside some moss, and suddenly the opening was there, plain as day.

"Is nice trick, hiding in plain sight," North called up as Jack disappeared inside the hole. "You use spell?"

"Sure, tell you about it later – just give me a sec, checking the ladder, it's been awhile since I used it," Jack called back from just inside.

Seconds later the rope ladder fell, just as promised, though it was going to be a bit tricky getting over to it without getting soaked.

Jack watched from the edge of his door for a few moments, enjoying the show, before he dropped down and froze a path for North and Bunny.

Tooth and Sandy bypassed the ladder and floated up to the door gently, waiting for North and Bunny to finish the climb and get inside and for Jack to finish coiling the ladder before they dropped into the short tunnel.

The first thing to strike all the Guardians once they were fully inside, beyond how small the room was, was just how clean it was. Somehow, they had all expected clutter, and considering how much work cleaning was, a certain level of mess and things.

All of them – even Sandy – somehow managed to collect ephemera, odds and ends, and despite themselves the sheer amount of stuff added up.

Well, Jack had some of it too, just more tidily put away on the shelf and cupboard and the like than they had expected.

For all Jack had obviously made nearly everything in the room, down to the nest-like bed, and had obviously little to work with, it was...cozy. Small and comfortable and homelike.

It was a little uncomfortable for Tooth with all of them in it, but only because it was so small and there was only one way out. She preferred open skies, and they all knew it. Plus, it was small enough she was walking in rather than flying, which always was odd to her now, but with all of them inside there was a good chance of smacking someone with a wing if she kept hovering. But to North and Bunny – especially Bunny – this place felt, smelled, was a home.

"Real nice place ya got here, Jackie," Bunny said, sitting casually back onto his heels.

"Don't patronize me," Jack said lightly, hanging his staff on a hook on the wall, a silent declaration of trust given the stick hadn't left his sight, had barely left his hand, since Easter of 2012.

"Sorry there's not more places to sit," he said, either not noticing or ignoring the Guardians' reactions, small though they were, to that little show. "I don't really get many visitors – actually, I think you're the first spirits I've actually invited into my...I like to call it my den. Anyway, I don't use the table that much, when I'm here I usually just sit on the bed. So, yeah. This is it."

"Well, we like it," North declared. "Would like to see ice palace someday, but is very nice home."

"I know it's nothing like yours," Jack said, scratching at the back of his head. "It's small, and plain, and...yeah. There's nothing all that special about it."

"Part of our homes is what's expected of us," Bunny said before Jack could be more depreciating of his home. "An' we had a lot more time and help, remember? Kids expect th' big workshop an' Springtime, so we get a power boost ta make it happen. Ya did this all by yerself, ya should be proud o' it. We needed th' space."

"And you think I don't," Jack teased back, but he was smiling now, no longer ashamed of his home. North had a question then about the construction of the hutch against the wall and he and Jack bent over the furniture, deep in discussion over the carvings on the wood, the construction of the piece, as the other three looked around again.

"May not be fancy," Bunny commented to Tooth and Sandy in an undertone, covered by the sounds of North and Jack's conversation, "but it's a lot homier than I pegged th' snowflake for. Pretty impressive, all thing's considered."

"It's sweet," Tooth decided. "I love it. And I love him," she added, softer, looking over at the thoroughly distracted Jack.

"We all do, Toothie," Bunny said as Sandy patted her arm. "And I know Nightlight and Katherine will too."


	21. Chapter 21

Jack sat perched in the rafters of the Workshop, watching the activity swirling below and thinking. He had a mug of cocoa and a plate of cookies that had been shoved into his hands by Phil, along with an apple from Greta when he arrived hidden balanced on the beam perpendicular to the one he was resting on, safe from the elves, his back against a vertical beam.

The odd protectiveness he'd felt at seeing the Guardians in General Winter's cage hadn't faded, despite the fact that none of them were in danger anymore.

It was...the closest Jack could compare it to was the feeling he'd had for his little sister, his few friends, but stronger, more persistent. It was a strange feeling, especially knowing that the others were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

And there it was again – that odd warmth, the feeling like being wrapped up in one of North's hugs that came when he thought to long about the other four. Cupid had grinned that silly, knowing grin at Jack the last time they had met up, almost preening when Jack had demanded to know what was going on and refusing to do more than drop cryptic hints.

It wasn't too hard to guess what was going on, though part of Jack kept denying it. A difficult task with Cupid being the one to look all smug over Jack's predicament.

At least the other spirit was being a bit reassuring when Jack starting worrying over how he felt this way for four other spirits. Jack was willing to forgive the smugness in exchange for that expertise.

But...why would the Guardians ever return Jack's feelings? He was probably mostly feeling this way because they were the first spirits to care about him, more than just as friends but as a team, since he'd become a spirit himself.

Sure, they touched a lot, and there were interesting looks between them, but they probably just felt like a family. Jack didn't want to be the one to ruin that by bringing...the word was even hard to think in privacy, but Jack made himself think it anyway.

By bringing romance into their family.

He was just going to enjoy this while it lasted (it was going to last. They weren't going to get rid of him, he'd finally found a place, he _had_ ) before they learned about the feelings taking root inside his heart and things got awkward.

Either way, Jack hadn't wanted to sit around outside when he had the option of going to the workshop, and he didn't want to be alone while he thought this through. Not entirely. Alone with his thoughts, but not physically.

He was thinking of the trip he'd offered to North, to go see the ice palace in Antarctica – Jack hadn't visited that continent since the confrontation with Pitch until a week ago, when he'd made a special trip to make sure the palace was still in peak condition and he wasn't taking North someplace dangerous – and wondering if Bunny or Tooth might try it when there was a change in the activity down below.

Jack watched from above, chomping into a cookie since he didn't have popcorn available. He wasn't going down to get caught up in all of that chaos until he had to, or until it looked like it might be fun.

Too many people for right now for him, even if they could all see him, he was better off up here until things calmed down.

Or until he was spotted and North's voice rang out throughout the workshop, calling Jack down to join him as North strode towards the family wing.

"Have news!" North announced happily. "Need to tell others...ah, need to find easier way to talk to each other..."

"You know, there are these human things called 'cell phones'," Jack joked as he followed along a little behind North to avoid the expressive arms North was currently flailing about. "Probably be pretty easy to convert some of those over to magic..."

North paused, tilting his head to the side. "Huh. Have been spending more time on toys and wonder, little on magic. Should try it. Later. For now, still want to go see palace in Antarctica. But must make stops to tell other Guardians the news."

He turned to face Jack, who was beginning to get nervous, grinning widely. "Have gotten message from Katherine and Nightlight. Will be home soon, within week! Are aiming to land in old village of Santoff Claussen, though were vague about it in message. In case it was picked up by unfriendly spirit."

Jack felt like the pit had fallen out of his stomach, but the grin he gave North was still real.

Nerves or not, he wanted to meet Katherine and Nightlight. Some of the stories were a bit vague yet, but this was Mother Goose and the original Guardian – sure he was nervous about being forgotten for the people the other Guardians had so much more history with, but he wanted to meet them and maybe...

"Does that mean I finally get to see Santoff Claussen too?" Jack asked, hopping up onto his staff.

"Ha! Yes, of course!" North said, speaking over his shoulder as he went to fetch his coat, this one with white trim, as the one with black was for fighting – primarily for fighting Pitch. "After Pitch attacked and Katherine and Nightlight left, most moved away. Could do to make sure is still in good condition, would not like them to come home and find home is gone."

Jack winced. "Hoo, yeah, that...yeah."

North paused as he tucked several extra snow globes into his coat. Shoving the last one down into his pocket, he crossed the room in two long strides to grip Jack's shoulders.

"Jack, they are going to love you," North said seriously, and inwardly he winced at his choice of words but Jack didn't seem to notice, looking up at North through his bangs. "They know there is new Guardian, just never got chance to meet you. Were already off to heal before you became Jack Frost. Have big hearts and will want to care for you, because we care for you."

It took a good deal of effort not to use the word 'love' again, despite 'care' not quite covering the way North felt for Jack, but he wasn't sure Jack was ready to hear it. Jack obviously cared about all of them, but love? None of them were sure if he was ready to hear that yet – or to hear about the marriage.

It seemed to work, anyway, as Jack smiled up at North, one of his real smiles. "Yeah, I guess I just got used to rejection," he said, flipping down easily off the staff when North moved back. "Come on, let's share the news, and let me show off the ice palace. I updated it a bit when I checked it out."

* * *

For all Bunny complained of the cold, he still tagged along to come see the ice palace. Tooth did as well, though she was bundled up in a thick coat of her own, and a pair of thick boots as her wings were caught under the coat, to protect them from the cold.

She and her fairies could take the cold where people lived, she explained to Jack, but cold like Antarctica? She'd rather take a few precautions, and Jack was all for it. This trip was supposed to be fun, not dangerous.

They approached the palace from the air, the whole of the sleigh already abuzz with excitement – Katherine and Nightlight were coming home, _and_ they were going to get to what Jack could do with snow and ice when he decided to get creative!

Sandy pointed down as they passed overhead, and Jack huddled a little against North.

"Oh, that? Um...remember I said I hadn't come down since Easter 2012?" Jack said as the other Guardians looked down at the huge, spiky ice sculpture down below. "Pitch and I sort of...had a bit of a scuffle down here. That's what happened when our powers merged."

Baby Tooth, tucked into Jack's hoodie up against his neck, peeped soft reassurances and patted his neck. She was bundled up in a tiny snowsuit, courtesy of the yeti, but was still staying tucked into Jack's hoodie for protection.

"Do you mind if we look closer?" North asked, already tugging the reins to pull the reindeer down towards the ice.

"Too late to say I do," Jack snarked. "But I don't."

The sleigh slid to a stop near the huge black sand and ice creation, and the Guardians slowly climbed out of it, looking up at it with awe.

"Ya may not be proud o' it, but it's still pretty impressive," Bunny finally said, to agreeing noises and a burst of golden sand from the other guardians.

Jack stepped forward, resting his hand against the ice. "You know, for a bit? Right after we made this but before everything else? Pitch...he really sounded like he meant it, when he said he wanted a family and somebody who understood. I...know none of you are going to like me saying this, but do you think there's any hope at all for Pitch not being a giant extra drama king villain?"

The other Guardians exchanged looks, and Jack turned to look at them, his hand still resting lightly on the snow and sand sculpture.

"Made offer before," North said, stepping closer to Jack. "Was turned down flat."

"Still, we can always hope, right Snowflake?" Bunny added, stepping up to mirror North on Jack's free side, all three of them looking into the reflective ice and sand.

"You're sure?" Jack said, looking over at Bunny, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I distinctly remember a grudge about a certain storm..."

"Ah said we could hope, nothin' about not holdin' a grudge," Bunny replied, giving Jack a playful little shove. "Come on, let's go see that palace o' yours."

Jack shoved back and darted away, laughing, as Bunny chased him back to the sleigh.

* * *

The ice palace was closer to the center of Antarctica than most humans would try to venture (yet), though Jack wasn't sure if they would be able to see it if they did get close enough.

He hadn't made it to be unnoticeable, like North had the Pole, hadn't put any particular protections on it save the moat...but the fact that he used magic to make it could very well make it impossible for humans to see.

Jack sort of hoped they could. He wanted to see their reactions when someone came across a big-ass castle in the middle of Antarctica, surrounded by a star-shaped moat filled with freezing water.

The ice palace was bigger than the Guardians had expected, and Jack laughed at their gobsmacked expressions.

"It started out pretty small," he said as North drove the sleigh overhead in circles to take in the scale. "But I kept coming back down and adding to it each time I got an idea or got bored or wanted to test something, so it just kept getting bigger and bigger. There's a whole bunch of ice sculptures inside too, in the courtyard and in the palace."

"Okay, so it's pretty impressive," Bunny said grudgingly.

"It's not very colorful but I like it," Jack said. "I thought about living here, but eh, I like my den. It's more comfortable than this. Then again...if I could get some things down here to make it more livable, who knows."

"Would be good for impressing the reluctant," North commented, landing the sleigh where Jack directed him, sliding to a stop outside the upraised drawbridge.

Jack paused after jumping out of the sleigh, looking up at North in confusion, glancing over to Tooth for clarification.

"Some spirits are still more impressed by fancy trappings and elaborate buildings than the more subtle ways of showing power," she said. She shrugged, moving her hands expressively, conveying more with the expression than her words covered, mild irritation and disgust with the attitude and shallowness and resignation. "We don't invite other spirits into our homes often, but still."

"Huh," Jack said, still turning it over in his mind. "Right. Well, it's not really suitable for anyone who isn't prepared for the cold. Maybe we can change that if you really think I should, that could be fun. Just a sec, I have to let down the drawbridge – I'm the only one who can. The courtyard's kind of full or I'd have skipped it, but eh."

With that, Jack took off, and the drawbridge lowered over the moat moments later, the huge double doors behind it creaking open, with a sound like iceburgs moving.

Jack flitted around the other Guardians as they walked though the courtyard – an impressively large area, one filled with ice sculptures of anything and everything – and into the main palace.

From there it was like releasing a pack of children into a play zone. Yes, most of the palace was imposing and impressive, but it was still made by _Jack Frost,_ the Guardian of Fun (or Joy, the exact title was still up for debate).

Which meant things like banisters wide enough to slide down, lots of places to hide for a snowball fight, things to climb and things to slide, dozens of rooms and a million ways to have fun in the cold and snow.

* * *

Hours later, and they needed to return to the Pole before going to Santoff Claussen. They had all gotten pretty snow covered and cold – Bunny in particular, as Jack and North both seemed to find a special amusement in catching him off guard with a well-aimed snowball.

He'd gotten his revenge, and gotten it well, which was why they all (save Jack, who enjoyed it but had spent three hundred odd years in the cold) needed to get warm. Even Jack wasn't going to turn down warm blankets and hot chocolate, especially Pole chocolate.

* * *

Despite their excitement to go to Santoff Claussen and make sure it was still ready, Tooth and Sandy had jobs to do. While Tooth could leave hers in the care of her girls for longer and longer, she still needed to check in now and again, and there was no one to take over for Sandy.

So Tooth and Baby Tooth were off to the Tooth Palace, with Baby Tooth promising to remind her mother to come and help at Santoff Claussen in a few hours with a tiny salute and stern chirp, while Sandy was off to spread dreams to children.

Despite his excitement, it was clear Sandy might not be joining them for this trip. He had a lot of work to do, and he had slacked off enough for one night, maybe even the entire week.

After all, kids needed dreams every night, not just one season or one night a year. And Jack might have needed to do Winter, but he still could slack off – he only needed to make sure things didn't get out of hand, give things the personal touch, help kids have fun and help keep them safe. North and Bunny needed to keep an eye on things and do maintenance, come up with new ideas and experiment with them, but they could take time off.

So it was a trio that set off for Santoff Claussen, not all five.

Tooth and Sandy were a bit disappointed to miss out on Jack's first reactions to the place, but work had to come first, and they had already left it for longer than they had intended.

Still, Katherine and Nightlight were coming back. Watching them meet Jack would help ease the sting of missing this.

With that thought in mind, Tooth and Sandy waved the other three goodbye and took off even as North opened a portal to Santoff Claussen.


	22. Chapter 22

Bunny still hated the sleigh, but right now it was almost worth it to watch Jack's face as they circled over the dense forest that hid Santoff Claussen from the world and Jack began to get glimpses of the tiny village.

It was too bad most of the people had had to leave over the years, but children did grow up eventually, even in a village made of magic, so long as part of them was still mortal.

So now it was inhabited by William the Absolute Youngest, the last of the village's original children, and the newest dreamers, who had been drawn to the village by its magic, the magic that called in the inventors and the dreamers, those whose imaginations were strong and who would thrive in such a place.

Not many enjoyed living with so few others in a place so isolated, even with magic and imagination, but enough still lived there that it was still Santoff Claussen, the place of dreams, that only those meant to be there could find.

So the population of Santoff Claussen had dwindled, since the attacks by Pitch and without Ombric (the town's founder, now Father Time and caught up so strongly in all of the responsibilities and powers that came with that he hardly ever came back home, let alone met with the Guardians) or Katherine or Nightlight.

North landed the sleigh and they were immediately mobbed by the children who now lived in Santoff Claussen, William the Absolute Youngest at the rear of the pack and smiling at them all, an adult but still believing with all his heart, as did everyone who lived in Santoff Claussen.

Jack shrank back until the children asked who he was, until they bounced at the edge of the sleigh and looked at him, straight at him, with bright and wondering eyes, and he lit up like one of North's trees.

"Is Jack Frost, newest Guardian!" North announced proudly. "Fought with us against Pitch, is Guardian of Fun! Or Joy, is bit of argument yet. Is still settling into role as Guardian," he added, mostly towards William the Absolute Youngest, who tilted his head and looked at North knowingly, looking between North and Jack as Jack leapt out of the sleigh and was immediately mobbed by children shooting questions at him.

Of course, once the children heard that Jack was the Guardian of Fun and Spirit of Winter, they were dragging him off to play. William the Absolute Youngest made his way to the sleigh as North and Bunny disembarked, amused as he watched Jack entertaining the children.

"What was that about, the 'still settling in'?" William the Absolute Youngest asked, looking up at North.

"Ah, may not have told him about marriage yet?" North said, surprisingly guilty.

"Snowflake had no clue about it, still doesn't," Bunny said, leaning against the sleigh and waiting for his legs to stop shaking. "He was so bowled over just about havin' friends, he's no' used to people likin' him yet. We're givin' him a bit ta get used ta friends afore we throw that on 'im."

"Could barely stand being touched, or being with others for long when first sworn in," North said as they watched Jack be tackled by four of the children at once. "Has gotten much better, warms heart to watch."

William the Absolute Youngest shook his head. "Well, hope you know best, you know him," he said. "Wonder what Katherine and Nightlight will think about you not telling him, though."

"Will find out soon!" North said cheerfully. "Got message, both are coming back, should be home within week. Came to fix up Big Root, make sure it was ready for them. Might not be ready for much noise after being away so long, da? Like Jack."

"Another reason to be glad he's here now," Bunny said mildly. "He keeps remindin' us o' things we forgot."

William the Absolute Youngest was already smiling widely. "Well, that's two pieces of great news for us! Let's make the announcement and get to work!"

It took a minute to get everyone's attention, something made easier once Jack noticed their attempts and helped to corral the children. From there, the enthusiasm was transferred to making Big Root, the huge tree turned home and workshop in the center of Santoff Claussen, livable once again.

Apart from cleaning it now and again, no one had entered Big Root since Ombric had unofficially moved to the Lunar Lamidary and Nightlight and Katherine had left together on their voyage of healing. It had felt wrong to enter their home while they weren't there despite the open expectation that they would come and go through Big Root as they pleased. But thanks to the regular checkups, while it needed a through cleaning, Big Root wasn't in such a bad shape as the Guardians had worried it might be.

Bunny still had to urge the tree to heal a few bad spots where rot was trying to take hold, and things like bed linens were collected to be sent back to the Pole for washing and mending (and, if necessary, replacing) along with the rest of the soft, material things that hadn't been properly preserved, but apart from a good deal of dust, Big Root was nearly ready for Katherine and Nightlight to move into that day by the time they were done.

Jack helped to put some decorations back up that had been knocked down by time or a distracted brush with a dust rag, and wondered about the personalities of the people who'd put them up.

Katherine hadn't been the only one to live here, many other children had spent long amounts of time basically living here as well, but her things were the ones stored here, along with what Ombric had left behind for her and North and the rest of the residents of Santoff Claussen.

Nightlight had, apparently, not lived here long enough to gather things or leave a mark on Big Root.

Actually, according to the older Guardians, Nightlight never seemed to have or be very interested in collecting any belongings besides his clothing, armor, and staff. Katherine, on the other hand, collected books – and her room was filled with them, with little trinkets from the other children in various nooks and crannies.

Kailash's nest revealed bits and bobs the swan had collected or that Katherine had stored there, and they were carefully replaced once the old bedding had been discarded and the new nest constructed.

With all of them working at it, they were done by the time the sun was beginning to set. Tiny lights lit the village, dancing overhead and changing colors as they flitted about.

Jack was reluctant to leave, and there was no pressing reason to, so they all sat in the center of Santoff Claussen around the multicolored bonfire as they told stories and played with magic and whiled the night away.

* * *

Three days later, Jack was standing by the main entrance to the Workshop with the other five Guardians, watching the skies anxiously, passing his staff from hand to hand.

Katherine and Nightlight were coming, and soon, incredibly soon. The closer they came to home, the quicker their messages came through, and now they were close enough to say they would be here within the hour, and Jack was frosting over with nerves.

The others could remind him as many times as they wanted that Katherine and Nightlight were going to like him, he'd met too many spirits that disliked him at first sight (or even before that) to be entirely sure of their reassurances.

And, despite all the progress they had made with each other, part of Jack still worried they would...not forget, precisely, but no longer have time or attention for him now that Katherine and Nightlight were back, especially when Nightlight sounded so similar to Jack.

The others could tell Jack it wouldn't happen until the Moon came to Earth, but he'd seen how they had drifted back to being closer and could see how quick and easy it could fall apart again.

Jack was jolted out of his spiraling thoughts by noise from outside and a warm paw on his shoulder, and he glanced up at Bunny, sharing a grin as the noise grew louder and Jack began to bounce as excitement overtook nerves.

Up in the sky, sunlight glinted off silver, and Jack understood even clearer why the homecoming pair wanted somewhere humans would never be as a place to land.

Because humans may have managed to make it to the moon, but their ships were nowhere near what was coming in to land here and now, this elegant ship of silver and gold that looked old, older than something that sci-fi and futuristic had any right to be, and Bunny whispered points of interest about it to Jack, pointing them out as it came in to land, explaining how he and Ombric had supplied the original Golden Age plans with help from Ombric viewing the past, and how North had helped improve them, the whole thing built from parts of the ship Bunny had once used, from things Sandy had still had around, and things they had created new.

It was small, and sleek, and beautiful, and it kicked up the snow as it came into a landing, obscuring their view until it all finally settled.

Once it had, North and Bunny, Sandy and Tooth, and a good dozen yeti (surrounded by hordes of elves, attracted to the lights and sounds and action) hurried forward towards the ship where a door was opening, lines appearing in the previously featureless side and sliding away into the ship organically. Jack floated upward, viewing it all from just above the crowd.

A gangplank rolled its way down from the opening in the side of the ship, and there they stood. Nightlight and Katherine, with the bulk of Kailash, Katherine's Himalayan snow goose behind them, backlit by the light pouring from inside.

Nightlight launched himself out of the ship, floating upward, and for a moment the two white haired, staff bearing spirits' eyes caught and held. Nightlight tilted his head curiously, pale green eyes cautious but friendly, a smile quirking the corners of his lips.

Like Jack, he was pale, but his coloring edged towards a silver that was never a human's skin tone, and he glowed faintly, even in the sunlight. His hair was a silvery white and straight, with a long curl on each side of his face, unlike Jack's snowy white fluff. He wore dark armor chased with silver, and carried a staff with a diamond dagger on its tip.

There was a sudden buzz of sound, and Tooth joined them in midair. Nightlight's glow flamed brighter as Tooth flung her arms around him, squeezing back as his light flickered with joy.

"It's so good you're back!" Tooth squealed, and Jack felt a quick surge of jealousy, small and hard, beaten back by the giggles that rose as she spun Nightlight around in a circle. Nightlight was silently laughing, and Jack remembered suddenly that North had mentioned that, how Nightlight rarely spoke. It was more often than Sandy, who never spoke, but Nightlight only said something when he really felt it needed said, mostly vocalizing through laughter and his light.

Though who knew, being alone on a ship with only Katherine might have meant he had to use his voice more often.

"You've met Jack?" Tooth asked, pulling back from Nightlight but not yet letting go. "Well, I mean, not properly but...Jack, this is Nightlight. Nightlight, our newest Guardian, Jack Frost. Come back down, I want you to meet Katherine," she said, directing the last to Jack. "Oh! Maybe once you're both used to being back home we can all go flying together!" she chirped, still holding Nightlight's hand as she started back towards the ground. "Jack knows some wonderful new places, things have changed so much since you've been gone!"

They had reached the ground by the time Tooth was finished speaking, and she reached over to snag Jack's hand, tugging him along behind her as she pulled both males toward where the other Guardians were greeting Katherine and Kailash.

Jack still hung back after being introduced to Katherine, watching as the other Guardians hovered around her and Nightlight and feeling their curious glances towards him.

Katherine was rather pretty, with long auburn hair tied into a loose ponytail and a kind, open face. Her grey eyes were kind as well when she glanced over at Jack, and it gave him hope that the Guardians hadn't saying meaningless reassurances out of their own hopes for them all to get along but had been right.

Much as Tooth had, North was talking expansively, making hopeful plans with an amused Katherine, talking about the changes made to Workshop and Warren and Tooth Palace, sleigh and tooth collection and more.

The yeti, rolling their eyes, began to herd the Guardians back into the Pole, and Jack found himself bundled in the middle somehow, walking next to Katherine. Kailash followed another set of yeti, honking quietly, obviously more interested in the food they had to offer than in the other Guardians.

Jack started when he felt a hand sneak into his and give a little squeeze, and he looked up to see Katherine smiling at him as they walked.

Jack's hand brushed against the fur trimming her yellow winter coat, and he had to fight the urge, sudden and unwanted, to jerk his hand back. He did want to hold hands more often, he wanted to touch, he was getting better...there were just moments when it was suddenly overwhelming. Like now, when someone he wanted to know and like but didn't yet know was the one holding his hand, even if it was welcomed as well.

As if she could tell Jack was getting a little edgy, Katherine gave his hand another little squeeze and loosened her grip until Jack was the one keeping their hands together. The tightness in Jack's chest loosened, and he was able to let his hand stay loosely laced with Katherine's the rest of the way to the family room, where North had set out and spruced up Katherine and Nightlight's chairs and set them with the rest.

Somehow, the sight of his chair, personalized and created just for him, helped ease a little of the worry in Jack's chest that had welled up as he watched the other Guardians interact with Katherine and Nightlight, the worry that he was unnecessary now that they were home.

Still, Jack perched in his chair and watched for now. It was what he usually did, when he had the chance. That or put up a front, and while he really was as sarcastic and mischievous as people thought, he didn't feel like putting up his shields. They were for people who already had notions about him, for other spirits who were already against him without reason, not for spirits he wanted, with a ferocity that almost hurt, to like him.

So Jack waited, and watched, part of the group and yet for the moment outside of it

And firmly squashed the stirrings of jealousy as he watched Katherine and Nightlight slide back into the Guardians as if they had never left despite all the changes, into conversations begun five hundred years ago, wondering if he'd ever have that kind of history with them.

If they still would need him for that with these two returned.

* * *

Notes: A quick reminder that Katherine and Nightlight come from the books. I've read the first four Guardians of Childhood books (though it's honestly been awhile), none of the other books Joyce has written, so they're based on that and on fanon. Lots of fanon. William the Absolute Youngest, Ombric, Santoff Claussen, and Big Root are also from the books; more information about them can be found at the Guardians of Childhood/Rise of the Guardians wiki.


	23. Chapter 23

Katherine waited until Jack had left, needing to go take care of his wintery duties, such as they were. She was a little shaky yet on just what Jack's job was, since communication had been sparse and details few, and she hadn't gotten to speak to him yet.

"So..." she said as the conversation paused, "who wants to tell me why Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when I took his hand and you were all so insistent we didn't mention the marriage to him the one time you got a clear message to us?"

Nightlight's glow flickered with interest as the other four Guardians looked anywhere but directly at Katherine, each looking distinctly uncomfortable.

She paused, then covered her face with one hand, leaning on the arm of her chair, certain she already knew the answer to her question but needing to ask anyone, in the vain hope that she was wrong. "Please, please tell me he knows about the marriage."

"Well, ya see..." Bunny said, flailing a little as he searched for words.

"Everyone knew about the marriage for so long, we forgot that we hadn't been acting married for a long time," Tooth said. "So we thought Jack knew. But then...after the dust had settled...he had no clue we where married...and he was so happy to have friends..."

"And very unused to anyone seeing him," North added. "Or liking him."

"So you just...didn't tell him that taking the oath was like getting married?" Katherine said, in a tone somewhere between disbelief and resignation. "Did you leave that part out when he took it?"

"We had a lot of work to do on th' marriage ourselves," Bunny said, defensively. "Jus' hadn't realized 'till th' Snowflake pretty much pointed it out wi' out realizin' he was. We could hardly tell him when he was still shaky an' we weren't solid. We jus' assumed he knew what bein' a Guardian meant, never really asked 'im proper 'til it was all over. So...kind of?"

"He didn't even realize about how we protect the children," Tooth said sadly. "But we'd just been doing it from afar, so..."

"Was my idea," North said proudly. "We woo Jack! Give him time to become friends, then court him and ask proper after telling him all."

Katherine paused, looking over at Nightlight with a meaningful gaze. Nightlight shrugged slowly, spreading out his hands, and Katherine sighed.

"I love all of you very, very much," she said. "So I want you to hear this with love and fondness. But dammit. Dammit, everyone. He needed to know. He deserves to know."

"He's barely gotten comfortable around us as it is," Tooth argued. "He'd feel so much more awkward if he'd known."

"But how much more awkward is he going to feel when he finds out?" Katherine countered. "Or if he finds out from someone else?"

The other four exchanged looks that said clearer than words that they had worried about it, but hadn't wanted to face it.

Katherine sighed again, smoothing down her hair with both hands and taking a deep breath with her head tilted back, hands on her shoulders. "We leave for a few hundred years and it all goes sour," she said to the ceiling. "I can't leave any of you alone for five minutes, let alone a few hundred years, can I."

The words were scolding but the tone was fond, so while the older Guardians shuffled in place they smiled as well.

"I want to hear more of what happened while we were gone," she said, reaching for Nightlight's hand. "But I'd rather wait until Jack is back to talk about what we did. There really wasn't that much, considering how much time we needed just for healing." She paused as everyone got settled again in their chairs, taking a drink of her cocoa. "But we need to tell Jack what he's gotten himself into. And if you haven't told him by this time next year, then I will."

"Actually, you know what?" Katherine said a minute later, as her statement sank in, "I take the first part of that back." She set down the mug and let go of Nightlight's hand, leaning forward eagerly. "Tell us about Jack."

Nightlight lit up, mirroring Katherine.

The other Guardians also lit up before beginning to look guilty.

"Okay, so here's the thing," Bunny said before Katherine could start asking questions. "Jack's a Winter spirit, even though he does Fall too, and he's really strong and mischievous, so a lot of rumors got started around him, and we kinda..."

"We didn't have the time or energy to find out more," Tooth said, as Sandy sent up swirls of Dreamsand, explaining how he'd occasionally see Jack on one of his circuits, but Jack was always gone before Sandy could pause for long enough to wave, let alone say hello, and Winter spirits had never wanted to talk before that either, so...

"Did not pay attention and Jack paid price for it," North admitted. "Can not pay close attention to every new spirits, and were too involved in jobs for each other, let alone new spirit."

"And then there was Easter of '68," Bunny sighed. "Giant snowstorm on Easter, people died. Everyone said it was Jack's fault, and he didn't deny it, and we had a bit 'o a tussle over it. Got it cleared up lately, but I was holdin' a bit 'o a grudge." He sighed. "Honestly, it's kinda amazin' he gave us a chance. So there's some baggage there, yanno?"

"It's not all gloom!" Tooth said quickly as Katherine and Nightlight exchanged dismayed glances. "We've been making efforts not to forget and get caught up again in our work and he's forgiven us. And we haven't been pushing, and he's gotten so much more comfortable with touch and telling us things! He's so...I just..."

"Let's tell 'em about startin' Fall," Bunny suggested, smiling and laying a hand across Tooth's shoulders as she flailed for words to describe Jack. "He wants everyone ta think he's all snowballs an' fun times, then he invited us ta come along while he worked."

With that began the animated retelling of bringing the Fall with Jack Frost.

Katherine leaned back into her chair and into Nightlight's side to watch the show. She didn't usually listen to rumors, and with how vibrant and animated her Spice were over Jack, she wouldn't listen to a single one.

She just hoped Jack liked her.

* * *

Jack was pacing, frost flaring up behind him with each step.

Okay, he'd held it together earlier, but the jealousy was coming up again. It was ridiculous, but it was there. He didn't really know either spirit, but the Guardians had talked about them enough for him to have an idea. Katherine was kind, more patient than he was, and Nightlight didn't snark and try to keep people out the way he still did at times.

But they'd still been through a lot, just like Jack. They were Guardians too. Just because they clicked again with the other Guardians didn't mean he should be jealous. Of course they slid back in, they'd had adventures and fought with the Guardians Jack knew, of course they would have a lot to talk about.

Jack flung himself into his nest with a groan. He was being ridiculous, and more, he knew he was being ridiculous.

Still...he hadn't been lying about needing to go take care of some Winter duties, especially now that General Winter was...out of the picture.

What were Katherine and Nightlight going to think when they found out about that?

Jack grabbed a pillow and shoved it over his face, releasing a scream into it. The pillow immediately frosted over and through, crunching when Jack tossed it across the room to thaw.

He'd come back here to calm down and talk himself out of being ridiculous, not work himself up more! He didn't want to cause a storm by accident, he wasn't fifty anymore. Plus, what kind of first impression would that be – 'hi, welcome home, I freaked out about meeting you hard enough I caused a major snowstorm out of anxiety'!

Right. Focus. The Guardians had spent the last how long reassuring him they weren't getting rid of him, even when he brought out the big guns.

But he could feel that worry, that fear coiling deep in his gut the way he hadn't for almost a year now. They had Nightlight now, a different, older spirit of pale hair and fun and mischief, why keep Jack Frost with his issues? They had Katherine, she was kind and smart and much more patient than he could ever be.

Jack wasn't sure he could go back to being alone after this taste of having someone to love who might love him in return. He wasn't sure just how he felt about them, but he was getting pretty sure of it.

If nothing else, Cupid's smirks were a pretty big clue.

Jack sat up and scrubbed the ice out of his hair. He was being silly, and the first part of loving somebody was trusting them, right? So he had to trust that the Guardians didn't choose him to replace Nightlight, and that they cared about him for him.

They wouldn't have fought to keep him around so hard if he was just a replacement.

Jack nodded firmly to himself and laughed. He could be so dramatic when he got into one of those spirals.

Feeling better now that he'd gotten it out of his system, he headed out. Winter work had only partially been an excuse, after all. There were a lot of kids' windows that needed a special touch.

And a few pre-teens in the nearby town who could use a bit of a surprise. It was still amazing that they believed, still believed in all of them but especially him despite getting older, and they deserved a few pleasant surprises for that.

With a laugh Jack launched himself into the air, already planning out the designs he'd paint on their windows.

* * *

Nightlight sat on the roof of the Pole, as it had come to be called now. It was strange, how many things were similar yet achingly unfamiliar. Even the other Guardians...they were still the four he and Katherine had left, and yet...five hundred years was a long time, even for an immortal.

Nightlight sighed, a small puff of fog in the frigid air, which he hardly felt. They'd known that the Guardians were going to change...even he and Katherine had to have changed over the course of their voyage. But it was still startling to see, to hear about now. How Bunny was, well, _Bunny_ now, how he'd only recently started pulling out the coats again and wasn't worried about dignity the way he used to be, even if he'd already been loosening before they left. The physical changes to Tooth, the stories they told, the way the legends of them had settled...

And then there was Jack.

Were they replacing him with Jack?

Nightlight shook his head fiercely. He didn't know where that thought had come from, but it wasn't true, and he knew it, down to his starry bones.

But if he'd thought it...he and Katherine had noticed the similarities between him and Jack. If Nightlight had had that thought, then...then maybe Jack felt that way, too.

If he did...Nightlight wanted to get to know him better...maybe that would help Jack feel more secure in his place with them all. If they could get to know each other, find out how they were different...

As if his thoughts had conjured him up, Nightlight saw a small figure approaching in the distance. Nightlight stood and waved, and Jack paused in midair before changing course, heading for Nightlight instead of the balcony.

He landed next to Nightlight on the rooftop as lightly as one of his snowflakes and dropped into a crouch, and Nightlight was struck by the strong desire to see Jack at work. Was he always graceful like this as well as playful? If so, Nightlight badly wanted to see.

Jack shifted in the snow, nervous and a bit unsure, and Nightlight smiled gently as he settled back down into the snow beside Jack.

"I figured you'd still be inside," Jack said after the pair had sat in silence for a time, the wind tousling star and snow white hair, bright blue and pale green eyes taking each other in. "I mean, since you hadn't seen the others in so long."

The glow around Nightlight flickered and Jack tilted his head, watching him curiously. Nightlight paused and flushed as Jack ducked his head and chuckled.

"North, ah, mentioned you didn't talk much," he said. "Guess you got out of the habit again while out there?"

Nightlight nodded, still flushed but with eyes sparkling.

"Think you could try that again?" Jack prompted. "Is it something like how Sandy talks? I think I'm getting better at understanding Sandy."

Nightlight's eyes crinkled as he smiled, and Jack felt his heart flutter as he found himself thinking he wouldn't mind being on the receiving end of that smile more often. He really hoped this was going to work out, he'd just found his place and these two seemed nice...that didn't always mean much but this time he really wanted it to.

Then Nightlight started flickering again and Jack had to pay attention, not let his mind wander. It wasn't quite like Sandy's light language, but Jack remembered the stories saying how little Nightlight talked and didn't want the first conversation they had being Jack demanding he speak.

"You...needed a little space?" Jack said, unsure he was getting the translation across properly. "It was...too loud after all that time with just you, Katherine, and Kailash?"

Nightlight smiled and glowed, looking pleased all out of proportion, in Jack's opinion. Still, Jack smiled back, holding his staff close.

"Yeah, it gets to be a bit much in there for me, too, even after a couple years," he said. "Would...do you want me to go? So you can have the quiet again?"

Nightlight shook his head emphatically, patting the snow next to him. Jack smiled back, a little shyly, and moved from his crouch to sit down next to Nightlight, though he left a good bit of space between them.

There was a chirp from below, and Baby Tooth, Jack's little Rani, flittered up out of the window and perched on Jack's leg, having heard his voice and wanting to join them. She was in her little snow suit again, looking particularly adorable to Jack's way of thinking, and she preened when Jack told her so.

Nightlight watched them with soft eyes, leaning back on his hands. He hadn't officially met the baby teeth yet, as the operation from the Tooth Palace was still growing when he and Katherine had left.

The other Guardians had told the two of them about the rumors surrounding Jack, and while Nightlight could understand some of them – the Guardian of Fun (or maybe Joy, Katherine would have to help them figure that out through stories) being a mischief maker? Oh, say it wasn't so! – but some of the other rumors had, even then, sounded cruel or petty from the beginning. Now, watching Jack cuddle the little tooth fairy, they seemed even crueler.

The tooth fairy chirped, tilting her head towards Nightlight rapidly, and Jack chuckled.

"Oh, right. Baby Tooth, this is Nightlight. Nightlight, Baby Tooth," Jack said, holding Baby Tooth out so Nightlight and she could see each other better. "She was the only one Pitch didn't catch during Easter 2012. Don't tell, but she's kind of my favorite," he added in a fake whisper.

Baby Tooth chirped gleefully and flittered up to hug Jack's cheek as he cupped her close.

 _They have names?_ Nightlight flickered, holding out a hand for Baby Tooth, who fluttered over willingly, preening under the attention.

"Well...they do now," Jack said evasively after a moment of translation. "I, uh...Tooth okayed it!" he said defensively when Nightlight tilted his head questioningly. "I told her I was giving the girls a gift! I just...didn't tell her exactly what it was."

Nightlight looked down at the fairy in his hand, suddenly noticing...she seemed to be a little bigger than the ones who'd been around Tooth earlier. She had a golden feather on her forehead, like Tooth did but most of the others he'd seen didn't, and suddenly he worried.

"They picked the names themselves, I just brought the lists and helped make sure everyone got their own," Jack was saying, his hands running up and down the length of his staff. "I know enough about Naming to make sure they did that. All except Baby Tooth," he added, looking at her in her little snowsuit fondly. "I, uh, might have chosen one for her. Besides Baby Tooth. She's kind of been keeping it between us."

Baby Tooth giggled. She chirped, and Nightlight listened close, trying to understand. There were words in there, but he didn't know the language well enough yet to make it out.

Jack did, though, and was smiling down at her softly. She chirped again and he laughed. "Good idea, Baby Tooth!" he said. "Hey, Nightlight, check this out," he said, and under his hands formed a small rabbit of snow.

Nightlight laughed with delight as the rabbit came to life, washing its face with its front paws before hopping into the air, doing laps around him before it burst into flakes.

Nightlight, still laughing, turned back towards Jack and got a faceful of snow.

Baby Tooth squealed with laughter as Nightlight dashed the snow from his face, looking up and finding blue sparkles dancing in front of his eyes for a moment before they cleared and he saw Jack, tossing another snowball up and down and grinning mischievously.

Nightlight grinned back, scooping up his own handful of snow, and the battle was on.


	24. Chapter 24

Katherine and Nightlight had been back for a month, mostly resting and getting used to the world as it was now. So much had changed in five hundred years, it was going to take more than a month to take it all in.

For Katherine, that meant a lot of time spent in North's library, since the one at Stanoff Claussen, while vast, was a bit old and focused primarily on magics.

The magic on the library at the Pole, the spells that protected the books and kept them up to date, helped North to have the most up to date information in his library and near at hand, also needed a bit of brushing up, but once brought to North's attention, he and Katherine had it up and running in little time at all. Still, using North's library meant being at the Pole and around North, so...

There were people at Santoff Claussen, yes, but they weren't her Spice. They weren't the people she'd missed the most during the long voyage, despite needing the time, the space, to heal. They weren't the people she wanted to surround herself with, to cuddle and wrap herself in the much missed feel of fur and sand and feathers and warm skin.

And in a way, she was a bit grateful they were all taking things slow, not only with Jack, but with each other. Much as she missed some of the physical aspects of their relationship, it was very nice to be courted again, to have the snuck kisses and sweet gestures she'd missed while she and Nightlight were gone.

Katherine was also trying to find a time to go and see Ombric, her informally adoptive father. But for someone who had taken the role of Father Time, he had a very lose grasp on it these days, and it was difficult to find a time when he was here in the present.

But right now...even more than her father figure, she wanted her Spice. She glanced up from behind her book at North, who was sitting in his own chair nearer the fireplace, his own book laid out on the small table in front of him.

If the yeti she'd overheard weren't exaggerating, it was about time he spent some time relaxing like this, doing something other than creating Christmas wonder. All well and good to love your job, but one needed something outside of that.

Speaking of outside...

"Hey, Nicky," Katherine said, one of the few who would – or could – call him that, closing her book. North glanced up from his book, looking for a moment closer then usual to the illustrations of him than he normally did. "We've been back a month, but we still really left the Pole or Santoff Claussen. How long do you think it would take to get everyone together and take a bit of a tour? The stories have changed, I want to see how the world's changed with them."

North perked, slipping off the half moon glasses he had been using to read which had contributed so strongly to the earlier image. "With everyone?" he said, eagerly. The monthly meeting was still a week away, and with all of them worried about sliding back into old behaviors... "Had been trying to let you become re-accustomed to being around so many again."

Katherine smiled, soft and already fond. "Because Jack got you to think of things like that?"

North's return smile was just as fond. "Yes, took much time for Jack to get used to having others to see and speak to. Still has to take breaks from Pole. Have spent much time with him yet?"

"I...I'm not sure if Jack likes me," Katherine said, toying with the edge of her book. "He hasn't really spoken to me yet."

"Seems like that at first," North agreed. "But...you did not hear from me, yes? But think Jack is bit intimidated. Much history, between all of us, and was very afraid for awhile of no longer being wanted once he had helped us. Has apparently happened before."

"Oh," Katherine said softly. "Oh dear..." She was silent again for a moment, fingers still tracing the cover of her book. "I...it feels terrible to be relieved that it's not me, but...you don't think of Jack Frost as being shy, from the few stories I heard so far."

"Covers it well with sarcasm and bluster," North agreed. "Believe he is afraid you will not like him."

"Well, look, we already have something in common," Katherine said, propping her chin on her hand, elbow on the table. North barked out a quick laugh before rising to put a hand on Katherine's shoulder.

"Ah, Jack has been alone for long time, is allowed issues," he said. "We all are. He is trying, might be trying to give us all time together. To have reunion."

North paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe should ask Jack to give tour? Do need to leave Pole more often, yes, Jack was clear on that, but...would give time for you and he, or you and he and Nightlight, to be together for a bit."

"I did want to do it with all my spice..." Katherine said. "But...maybe a little tour of Jack's favorites would be nice."

* * *

This was better than 'nice', Katherine thought a few days later, soaring through the air on Kailash's back. It had been longer than she'd realized since she and Kailash had flown together. The moon was bright and full, reflecting off of the silver in Kailash's harness, off her white feathers, sparkling on Nightlight's armor and making the silver hair that graced both he and Jack glow, one like moonlit snow and the other a star fallen to earth, reflecting from them like a blessing.

Jack laughed and twirled off to her left, riding the wind as easily as one of his snowflakes, wild and free. Nightlight was to her right, laughing and wild and free as well, enjoying the freedom to fly and fly and fly they had missed while voyaging.

As much as she loved her spice, Katherine had to admit that there were times they made things more difficult than necessary. They had been wondering how they could talk Jack around to showing Nightlight and Katherine his favorite places, explaining away why the rest of them would stay behind, more and more complicated and increasingly silly plans until Jack had walked into the room. And Katherine had simply asked him, saying she wanted a chance to spend time with him (true) and get to know the newest Guardian (more true).

And he'd agreed, surprised, but, she thought, not displeased with the attention or the request.

So now, they flew, simply for the joy of it.

Eventually, Jack twisted in midair, sliding onto his back and floating until he was flying under Kailash, hovering under her stomach where he was shielded from the buffeting of the winds from her wings.

"So...I don't really know what you used to go see and do when you were here before," he said, looking up at Katherine with eyes that caught the moonlight. "Wanna give me a hint?"

"Honestly? Until Pitch came, I didn't really leave Santoff Claussen," she called back, having to pitch her voice and call loudly to be heard. "And then it was mostly the Lunar Lamidary and the other Guardians' homes. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like them to show me what's changed there."

"Fair enough, and it gives me an idea. Come on," Jack called, darting down and away. With a happy honk and musical laughter, Kailash and Nightlight followed, Katherine shrieking with joyful exuberance as they swooped down towards the ground.

* * *

Jack landed lightly on top of a short cliff, one barely tall enough to earn the name, overlooking a small lake, once again one that only made the cut out of politeness, at the edge of a town.

"So, this is my lake," Jack said after Nightlight and Kailash had landed and Katherine dismounted. "Yeah, it's where I turned into a spirit, I don't like to think about it too much. I only found out the details during the whole Easter of 2012 fiasco. I didn't remember anything from before rising from it before then. Jamie, the Last Light, lives in that house over there," he said, pointing. "He was the first one to believe in me. I know people don't really believe in you two right now, but I'll bet Jamie and his friends will."

"Jack, you don't need to do that," Katherine said gently.

Jack took a deep breath, hands tightening on his staff. "No, I...I remember what it's like to not be seen. I went through three hundred years of that. I'm not...I'm just going to tell Jamie about you. The rest is up to him."

He took another deep breath and looked at Katherine. "I know I don't need to. But I want to." He looked around and then perked again. "Oh, and we're right above my den. Kailash...won't fit," he said, looking up at the huge snow goose, "but...I could show you? I never showed anyone before the other Guardians but..."

Katherine laid a light, gentle hand on Jack's shoulder. "I would love to see your den, Jack," she said. "I'd be honored, actually, especially if you're that secretive about it. And your lake is lovely. I wish you'd been chosen under better circumstances, but I'm glad you're here."

"Well, you're one of the few. I'm sure the others already told you about my reputation," he said confidentially. "So it's not like I had other spirits lining up to talk to me. Eh, most of them I'm not missing out on anyway. I had the Snegurochka and some of the trickster spirits, they're just busy a lot of the time – or not very powerful and kind of shy. Come on, we can talk in my den, and I know a spot Kailash can nest in until we're done."

* * *

The spot for Kailash was along the edge of the small lake, where there were plants for her to forage from, and she splashed into it happily, floating majestically even though, at her size, it was a bit like a yacht in a puddle.

It was hard to believe no one from town could see her, but that was the way the world worked.

Katherine paused, about to ride Nightlight piggyback down to the den. "Are you sure you're okay with her swimming in your lake?" she asked. "I mean, if you did...you know...shouldn't we treat it with respect than that?"

"I'd rather people had fun in it, honestly," Jack said back over his shoulder, twisting to float backwards and speak to them. "I always make sure the ice here is extra thick, did that before I remembered, and keep kids safe here. Better than everyone avoiding it since a kid died here once. Ha, there were these legends about me haunting it for awhile, those were awesome!"

Katherine and Nightlight both paused, blinking, before breaking into giggles. They were both giggling hard enough it took three tries for Katherine to jump onto Nightlight's back and drift down to the entrance to Jack's den.

Jack was standing inside the entrance, shifting from foot to foot and fiddling with his staff.

"Okay, fair warning, it's not fancy like the Pole, but, well, it's mine," Jack said. "The ice palace is more impressive, but I'm kind of still working on making that comfortable for non-Winter spirits. North's helping." With that, he waltzed into the den, plopping down onto the pile of pillows and blankets that served as a nest bed. "So yeah, this is it. Casa de Jack."

"You're right, Kailash wouldn't fit," Katherine commented. She hesitated before slowly sitting down on the bed near Jack, waiting for a protest, verbal or non. When none came, she sank into the pillows, nearly toppling into the bed proper. "I like it. It feels safe. Like a home. Especially after how loud and...busy...the Pole is."

Nightlight, as usual, didn't speak with words, but his glow was soft and contented. He drifted over and sat down on the bed as well, on Jack's opposite side. The three of them sat for a few minutes, not speaking, not quite sure what to say, but the silence was more comfortable than awkward, a moment to simply feel the presence of each next to them.

"So...did the others tell you about the whole General Winter fiasco?" Jack asked suddenly.

"It was brought up, but I'd like to hear your take on it," Katherine said immediately. "Would you tell us? From the beginning. How did you know General Winter? And the Snegurochka?"

"Wow, going back a bit there aren't you," Jack mumbled, flipping his staff up and behind to lay it on the bed behind them.

Katherine shrugged and smiled, and Jack felt for a moment as if he were in the presence of the sun, warm and bright and soft and kind, shining down on him. "I'm Mother Goose," she said. "I want the full stories."

"...you know, North was kind of vague about just what it means for you to be Mother Goose," Jack said thoughtfully. "And what Nightlight's job is going to be now. I mean, I have Winter and Fall, technically, plus playing with the kids, and the others have, you know, dreams and the teeth collection and Christmas and Easter and spring and all."

"I think we're going to have to find out again just what our jobs have changed to be," Katherine said, looking off into the distance. "Since we've been gone so long. But...I think I'm still here for the stories. To record them, to make sense out of them, to help them grow and settle. The stories for the others are settled, it changed Tooth's wings and it helped settle the Pole, it helps North get around the world in a single night. I have a feeling yours is still growing and changing as more people learn about you. I haven't gotten to see many of the stories about you yet, I'd need to go back to Santoff Claussen and find Mr. Qwerty."

Jack looked over at her, tensing as he realized this was something the Guardians hadn't told him about. "Who?"

"Oh, I guess...you didn't get told about him?" Katherine said, eyes shining with sudden understanding. "We took him with us, but he cocooned himself a few years in. Mr. Qwerty is...was...a GlowWorm. He lived in Big Root with myself and Ombric...the Guardians remembered to tell you about Ombric, right?"

Jack nodded, slowly, jumping slightly as Nightlight's cool hand crept into his cooler one. His lights flickered, and Katherine began to translate, pausing when Jack held up a hand.

"Wait, I think I...the Guardians...forget things? Important things? They forget that other people don't know important things until it's too late and it gets really awkward to tell the other person about it?" Nightlight nodded, beaming, as Jack looked back to Katherine.

"I've been working on understanding Sandy," he said proudly, his own cheeks frosted over and lightly pink under the frost. "Nightlight's not that far off."

Katherine and Nightlight exchanged a look as Jack thought over what Nightlight had 'said', both of them smiling. It said a lot, the look said, that Jack was trying so hard rather than demanding Nightlight speak, the way some spirits had, or dismissing him for his silence. Just because he could didn't mean he often liked to, and he wouldn't unless it was his choice.

"Well, that would explain why they forgot, I guess," Jack was saying quietly as the conversation passed overhead in a heartbeat. "Guess part of me still thinks there's a time limit for all this."

Katherine froze. Part of her had wondered, hoped so much if the others had been right, that Jack finally was sure he had a place among them...but it seemed he didn't just yet.

She slipped her hand into Jack's, waiting for him to settle and look at her before she spoke. "No matter what happens, you are a Guardian, Jack," she said softly. "No one can take that from you."

For a moment, Jack almost laid it all out for her – how alike he could see he and Nightlight were, how sure he had been that he'd been meant to fill the gap Nightlight had left and they didn't need him now that Nightlight was back, how sometimes he still wondered.

"Nightlight was a little worried about coming back," Katherine said, eyes glittering with mischief as she glanced over at Nightlight, who was miming for her to zip it, cheeks starting to stain and glow as he blushed.

"He thought maybe they were going to try and replace him with you," Katherine said confidentially, unknowingly echoing Jack's thoughts from just moments before.

Jack's mouth dropped open, and his head whipped back and forth so quickly between Katherine and Nightlight she worried for a moment he was going to hurt himself. It did make his hair flip rather prettily, a small part of Katherine noticed.

She did like silver on her boys, though gold was very pretty too...no, focus, Jack looked about five seconds from a meltdown. Thoughts about how pretty her boys were could wait.

"I...what...but...you're the _original Guardian_ ," Jack finally blurted. He would have jumped up, started to pace or simply flailed, but Nightlight had one hand and Katherine the other, and Jack wasn't ready for them to let go just yet. Not while the touch was still pleasant and welcome.

Nightlight shrugged, green eyes sheepish as he looked up at Jack, still playing with Jack's fingers. He was smiling through the glow of his blush, and Jack's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

Bad enough he was Feeling like that about the four Guardians he'd already had time to care about, now he had to go and fall for Nightlight, too?

Katherine squeezed his hand lightly, and...yep. Yep, there it was.

Cupid was going to laugh at him for this.

Cupid was going to laugh _so hard_ at him for this.


	25. Chapter 25

Jack wasn't sure what Katherine and Nightlight had thought of his reaction to his sudden revelation, silent as it was – thanks ever so Cupid for clearing it up that yeah, he was falling for the other Guardians, made it so much easier to figure out he was already falling into 'like-like' for Katherine and Nightlight both.

At least whatever they had thought of him suddenly freezing and frosting over, the blush shining through the frost, they were keeping it to themselves rather than teasing him over it.

Jack cleared his throat, fighting back the blush. If his hands had been free, he would have made a gesture of some kind, but that would require pulling away and he didn't feel like doing that yet.

"Age doesn't keep you from being insecure sometimes," Katherine said, either not noticing or kindly ignoring his momentary panic. "So...about that story about you and General Winter and the rest?"

Jack laughed lightly, grateful for the topic change. "And you were going to tell me about Mr. Qwerty. General Winter, huh. Oh, wow, well. That one...that goes way back," he said.

Katherine let go of his hand and Jack immediately missed the warmth of her hand...an odd sensation, and suddenly he was very glad of the patience the other Guardians had shown him, so he could miss it. He wasn't sure how much longer he would have enjoyed having both of them holding his hands, but he had a little time left.

Katherine was digging in the bag at her side. "Mr. Qwerty is a GlowWorm," she repeated as she dug, finally pulling out a book and pen. "He helped Ombric to keep the library in order. He loved to polish the books and keep everything perfect. When Pitch attacked Santoff Claussen, looking for some of Ombric's books, Mr. Qwerty ate them. All of them. I know," she said, when Jack looked at her in disbelief. "It was hard to believe then, too. And it was too much for him, he had to cocoon himself to recover. When he came out, he was a book. A book-butterfly, whose wings were the pages of a book. He used to let me write in him, and I could pass messages back to Santoff Claussen with him."

"What happened to him?" Jack asked, stomach dropping. He hadn't seen anything like a butterfly book when he and Bunny and North had been cleaning up Big Root for Katherine and Nightlight to come home, but he hadn't been around for the unloading of the ship...

"He went with us so we could write down all we saw," Katherine said, confirming one thing Jack had hoped. "He sort of...went dormant after the first century," she added sadly. "We really weren't doing anything to write down, and we didn't see a good reason to wake him unless something happened. He's in North's library right now, and Sandy keeps checking on him. Hopefully he'll wake up soon. I hope," she said, so softly Jack could barely hear her.

"Hey, Sandy knows everything about sleep. He's better at putting people to sleep than waking them up, but he'll figure it out," Jack said gently. He patted her shoulder, unsure if he could take much more touching just now but Katherine needed some sort of comfort.

Katherine took a deep breath and sat up from the huddle she had started to fall into. "You're right," she said, smiling at the two of them. "Sandy can figure it out. We just have to trust him."

She reached up and squeezed Jack's hand, letting go quickly, as if she could tell that he was nearing how much touch he could take at a time.

"So," she said after a moment. "General Winter...?"

"Okay, okay," he chuckled. "I first...well, I want to say met, but it was more like 'encountered' General Winter after I was about a hundred, I think. It wasn't easy to keep track of the years, you know? Seasons, yeah, but not so much years. Anyway. It...took me awhile to figure out everything I could do, and that I...you know, did the frost and brought Fall and Winter and all that. I spent most of my time playing. Still do, ask Bunny. Apparently that's how my magic works. If it's not, I'm not going to find out anytime soon. So I'm goofing off, right? Just doing my thing, trying to make a fun snow day for some kids. Let them have a little fun for once since the machines they had to work at were frozen solid. And it's working. When out of nowhere my snow gets shoved aside for this really bitter cold, like, the killing kind of cold, and the kids got scared 'cuz they knew, you know? They knew really well how fast it could kill."

"And then he showed up. The kids couldn't see either one of us, but they sure could feel him. I really don't remember what all he said – I was...it takes a lot to get me mad, usually, and I usually get over it pretty quick, but...the kids were having fun. They never got to have fun. And then he comes out of nowhere and suddenly they're in danger. So I was really mad. I know we fought, and I know I kicked his ass."

"Low on details," Katherine teased lightly, still writing in her book. "Did you find out later why he did that?"

"Probably the same reason he came after me again later," Jack said easily, "and the same reason he tormented the Snegurochka and and other Winter spirit he could find. He wants...wanted," and that was said with a wince, with a hunch, with a deep breath before Jack could continue, "to be the most powerful Winter Spirit. To control Winter. I think he did, once. Mostly because people knew his name."

Nightlight squeezed his hand as Katherine mused, "That does seem to make sense..."

"Yeah, I mean, the Guardians are extra powerful because people know who they are, and nobody knows Jack Frost," Jack said, his free hand moving as he spoke. "And General Winter was powerful. He wanted everyone to know how powerful he was. He really didn't appreciate how little respect I had for him. And I was always pretty snarky with him. He really didn't like that," Jack laughed. "Bunny thinks he's heard the worst snark I have to give, but he barely heard any compared to what General Winter got."

"Did the two of you go at it a lot?" Katherine asked, pausing to look up at Jack.

Jack shrugged. "I didn't go out of my way to avoid him," he said. "But I didn't want to see him either. So...we really only met when he tried to find me or he was in the middle of doing something that I had to get involved in."

"Bunny mentioned something about an Easter...?" Katherine prompted, though she remembered exactly what Bunny had said and what year it had been.

"Is he still going on about that?" Jack laughed. "I mean, I told him it was General Winter."

"He said, but he also mentioned it took a lot to get that out of you and that you never said exactly what the General was doing," Katherine countered.

"Well I don't think I told him," Jack said easily. "Mostly because I don't know either. We'd faced off a few times before that and that time he went running off as soon as I showed up. Maybe that was the whole plan, just to make the storm and run off, but he was cursing enough as he flew away I didn't think it was," he added, looking up at the ceiling as he thought it through. "It...it was a killer storm, and it was on Easter, way too late in the season for a storm that big, and I was trying to take control of it to calm it down but...I was already on edge from a dozen other things...It was sort of that whole death by a thousand cuts, you know? And then here's this storm that I have to try and calm down but I'm too wound up and..." he released Nightlight's hand to mime an explosion, complete with sound effects. "Easter of '68. Me and Bunny had a bit of an...what's the word. He blamed me, I didn't think anyone would listen if I tried to explain, you know."

That was more words at once than either Katherine or Nightlight had heard from Jack at once before, and they took a moment to sink in.

"You're not alone anymore," Katherine said softly.

Jack refused to meet her eyes. "Yeah, well, sorry if it takes awhile to sink in," he said. "I mean, three hundred years verses two. Lot of baggage there."

Jack sighed and flopped back onto the bed, just barely missing his staff and Nightlight's crystal tipped spear. "Then again, you two are what, twice as old as I am? You probably get it."

Katherine closed her book and cautiously leaned on her elbow, lounging on the bed, deceptively casual, as Nightlight leaned over them both. "Honestly, of all the Guardians, we probably do the best. We had to leave for almost five hundred years to get over some of the things that happened when we fought Pitch while he was at full power. So we get it, sort of."

"Did...the others tell you what happened to General Winter?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Nightlight and Katherine both nodded solemnly, and Jack threw an arm over his eyes. "Well. Guess I don't have to tell you, then. I...I just..."

"Bunny mentioned it was your first kill," Katherine said gently. "I've never...so I'm not sure if I'm the one who can really help, but..." she raised a hand, waiting a moment before reaching to brush it through Jack's bangs comfortingly. "Tooth thinks you're not dealing with it as well as you're pretending to. But they told us so we wouldn't ask. You can still talk to us."

"I figured you'd be the one to dislike me most for it," Jack said, soft and muffled by his hoodie's sleeve. "You keep finding ways to avoid that."

"Or maybe I just haven't been in a position where I didn't have time to find the third option," Katherine countered. "Jack, they were very clear about what happened with us. General Winter wanted you dead. He wanted anyone around you dead. Even I can hardly blame you for reacting to keep the people you care about safe."

"Yeah, I reacted," Jack said, still muffled by his sleeve but more bitter now, clear even if muffled, and Nightlight and Katherine exchanged worried looks as Jack continued. "Without thinking. Just reacting. I haven't acted like that since I was under a century. Not until Pitch killed Sandy and then General Winter tried to kill them all..."

He sighed, letting out a puff of frost but, Katherine noticed, not yet frosting the bed or dropping the temperature in the den, remembering that Katherine might not be able to take it.

Nightlight was a star, and could handle temperatures only winter spirits were comfortable at and below. Not always happily, but he could. Katherine, for all her status as a spirit, was still a human one and didn't take extremes so well.

"What if it happens again?" Jack was saying as the pair noticed the frost, were looking to each other in concern. "What if one of us...what if a Guardian is in the way next time and gets hurt?"

"Jack..." Katherine began.

Jack started, as if just realizing he had said that out loud, and shot upright, plastering a smile across his face.

Katherine may not have had much time yet to know Jack, but even she could tell that smile was fake, as was the joking he immediately launched into.

Fake enough that he crumbled under the light touch of Nightlight's hand on his shoulder.

Jack scrubbed a hand over his face and hair, dislodging the frost that had begun to form there. "Okay, we're getting way too deep here. Who's up for visiting the Last Light and his friends? I need a break."

"We're not going to forget this," Katherine warned him gently.

"Fine, but at least we can put it off awhile." Jack mumbled, gently extricating himself from between the other two, standing and grabbing his staff. "Come on, the kids might not be able to see you yet but I bet we can get them believing."

* * *

It was still late enough in winter that a chill breeze wasn't out of place in Burgess. What was out of place was the snowball that smacked into the back of Jamie's head. Jamie spun, eyes darting around until he caught the flash of blue and chased after it.

Laughing, he dashed into the forest and threw himself into Jack's arms. At thirteen, Jamie was edging the line where children stopped believing, but he and his friends did as wholeheartedly as ever.

Granted, Jack's frequent visits were likely a major cause of that.

And his age also meant that he was already starting to gain inches on Jack, inches and weight combined, so that Jack was nearly taken off his feet by the enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, kiddo!" Jack greeted happily, already flitting back a little as Jamie released him. "Got a surprise for you!"

"Isn't it a little late in the season for some of your surprises?" Jamie asked, bouncing a little in excitement but just responsible enough to ask.

"Not this one," Jack said, grinning. "But...there is a little bit of a catch."

Jamie crossed his arms, still grinning but waiting. Jack's games could get a little scary sometimes, but he wouldn't put any of them in danger, and every one of them trusted Jack, so he waited for the rules of this new game.

Still grinning, though now with an edge of nerves to it that set Jamie's alarms shrieking, Jack hopped up onto his staff. "Okay, so...remember how I said no one could see me before you and your friends?"

"Because no one believed, yeah," Jamie said, shifting his weight. "I thought you didn't like bringing that up."

"Well, I don't, but...there used to be more Guardians, a long, long time ago," Jack said, serious now, and Jamie stared up at him, wide eyed, absorbing the story as Jack began to weave the tale he'd been told of Nightlight and Katherine. "So they headed off, then, to the stars, so they could heal," Jack said, wrapping up the story.

Jamie was enthralled, now, bouncing on his toes as Jack paused. "And?" he prompted.

"And they've come home," Jack said, smiling down at Jamie. "But they've been gone so long, no one remembers them."

Jamie frowned, tilting his head as he thought. "Yeah, I see what you mean," he said after a second. "I mean, Sophie still has mom's old Mother Goose book, but..."

"But the story needs an update," Jack confirmed. "Good thing they're not in a rush. I just hoped that maybe..."

Jamie gasped, softly, eyes looking behind Jack. "Is that them?"

Jack twisted on his staff to look and saw Nightlight peeking out of the trees, Katherine at his side, and knew he'd been heard.

The smile he turned back to Jamie was blinding. "That was fast!"

Jamie was beaming, too. "Maybe you're just a good storyteller," he said. He grabbed Jack's hand and tugged him off the staff, making a beeline for the two new spirits. "Come on, introduce me! I wanna tell everyone else about them!"


	26. Chapter 26

After Jamie had gotten over his wonder and awe (and gotten all the stories he could remember in one setting out of Katherine), he had been as good as his word, as Katherine and Nightlight felt through the surge of power over the next few days that signaled children beginning to believe in them, personally, as opposed to drawing on the belief of all the Guardians together.

Katherine in particular was fascinated by the Internet once Jack had explained how Jamie and his friends were using it, had already used it to help increase belief in him and were even now using it to spread belief in Mother Goose and Nightlight alongside Jack Frost.

The stories were a little confused at the moment, but Katherine was confident they would settle with time.

For now, they left her and Nightlight and Jack a little unsettled, as belief waxed and waned and different theories were put forward and dismissed or expanded upon. It made their powers grow stronger and weaken, made them feel off or unsettled physically, as people argued and debated and stories were passed around about what they had done and what they looked like.

Tooth was there to soothe when Jack complained, perched on the windowsill of one of the many rooms of the Tooth Palace, where he had stopped for tea.

"Katherine mentioned it, didn't she?" Tooth said, pouring a cup for Jack. "How I used to have different wings? And how the stories changing, how people saw fairies, changed me once the story had settled?"

"Yeah, but...things happened and she didn't really get to explain how or why or anything like that yet," Jack said.

"Things will settle soon, you'll see. You two...are getting along alright?" Tooth asked anxiously. "And you and Nightlight?"

Jack's smile was small and a little nervous but genuine. "Yeah, we're taking it slow, but...yeah."

Tooth's answering smile was bright and relieved, faltering when Jack continued, "I...uh...I usually wouldn't say this, but...Katherine kept talking about how important it was to tell each other things, so..." he took a deep breath, not looking at Tooth, his hands twisting on the staff and the windowsill under his bare feet frosting over despite the heat.

Now truly worried, Tooth fluttered up from her cushion to join Jack at the windowsill. He glanced up at her through his bangs, little smile still in place, and said, "It's...it's silly. But I keep thinking about what Katherine said, so..." He looked out the window again and said, in a rush, as if he both wanted the words out there, purged from his system, but also wanted them locked away and never to see the light of day. "I saw how similar Nightlight and I are not just in how we look but in how we act, because we're both really a lot alike, and I was scared one of us was supposed to replace the other, and I was scared I was just supposed to be a stand in for him until he got back."

It took Tooth only a brief moment to understand the words Jack had used, though longer to understand their meaning. She sometimes spoke like that when excited, so she had a better chance than some to understand it quickly.

Her eyes went wide and she reached for his shoulder, hesitating before finishing the gesture, taking to the air to flutter outside the window so she could look Jack in the eyes.

"Jack, I...we..." she said, faltering for words as he looked up at her, all big soft eyes and vulnerable, open face. She took a deep breath, brushing the bangs out of Jack's face, and tried again. "I know you and Nightlight look similar in coloring, but so do you and North." Jack snorted out a laugh at that, and Tooth let her own out as well. "It's true. And I know you're both similar in a lot of ways beyond that, but we would never try to replace one of you with the other. We care too much about both of you to do that to either one."

She reached out again, sliding her hand against his cheek, and felt her heart swell as he leaned his cheek into her hand, bringing his own up to cover hers.

"Yeah, well, since we're doing the whole honesty thing, I figured I should tell someone," Jack said softly. "Besides Nightlight, that is. I just...I'm tired of keeping secrets, you know? I don't want to keep secrets anymore. I did for three hundred years since there wasn't anyone I could trust, but I can trust all of you. So...yeah. And you should probably talk to Nightlight about this, 'cuz," Jack's voice dropped and he leaned forward, closer to Tooth, "I'm not going to spill his secrets but if I felt that way, then...maybe you should talk to him."

It took Tooth a few seconds to answer, still drowning under a wave of guilt from Jack's frank admission of how tired he was of secrets while keeping something so big from him.

Well, there was always North's questionable plan. Surely they could tell Jack soon, and they could promise to not keep secrets again.

For now... "Jack, thank you for telling me," she said, her hand again resting on his shoulder and lightly touching his cheek, mindful to keep the face touching brief. "But believe me, we never meant to replace either of you. Even the few times we noticed how similar you were to Nighlight, we always wanted to know Jack."

Jack smiled back at her, and Tooth flitted away, facing Jack and with her hands behind her back. "Come fly with me for a bit?" she invited, suddenly hit with the idea.

Sisters of Flight did aerial displays for their mates, and courtship flights, and flying together just for fun. It was about time she and Jack had a few.

Jack's eyes lit up, and he pushed away from the window with a laugh. He was off in an instant, the cool breeze teasing Tooth's feathers as he brushed past her, deliberately close, and she wondered for a brief moment if he was simply showing off, teasing with how close he got to her while flying, or if maybe, just maybe, he was flirting.

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but she was allowed a bit of that.

With a laugh, Tooth darted after Jack, spinning around him quickly, an emerald blur in the air. She was going to put on a show this time.

Tooth spun and dipped, zipped fast as she could and turned on a dime, loop the loops and rolls and dives. It was tricky, it was at times more than a little dangerous, and Jack was right there with her the whole time, his eyes alight with joy and admiration.

They spun around each other, a twisting corkscrew higher and higher into the air until they dove almost as one, still circling each other but going faster and faster, both of them laughing breathlessly as the ground flew to meet them.

Tooth pulled up before Jack did, needing more time to slow down, but he was beside her again in an instant. They both glided over treetops, slowing until they dropped down by the side of a lake, settling gently into the branches of a huge oak growing over the water.

Jack was still laughing, and so was Tooth, both out of breath and flushed. Tooth wasn't sure about Jack, but she knew her blush was as much from pride in a successful courting flight as from the exercise. At least, given the way Jack was looking at her, even if he hadn't been told this was a courting flight and an excuse to show off, he had enjoyed the show anyway.

"Now that was fun," Jack said as they settled down, finally catching their breath. "You looked amazing, those were some great moves! Since when do you fly like that?"

Tooth was glad the flush of exercise hid the faint blush the praise brought to her face. "There isn't much call for it inside the palace," she said, waving a hand as she spoke. "But, well, out in the field...besides, isn't it about time we had some fun?"

Jack grinned back, an infectious grin of joy and of light, and Tooth giggled as she got a sudden, mischievous thought, and a little voice wondered if it was Jack's influence. But if it was, well, what of it? It was still fun.

"It's been a long time since I flew in the Warren," she said musingly. "Easter of 2012 doesn't really count. And I feel like seeing Bunny, now that we've got a way into the Warren again. What do you say?"

Jack was already flitting down towards the ground. Three taps against the ground would open up a tunnel to the Warren as easily for them as it would for Bunny, now. Jack had used it enough he didn't need the key Bunny had given him anymore, though he still kept it looped around the crook of his staff, carefully tied.

"Did you guys...get locked out of it or something for awhile?" Jack asked, the joy dimmed for a moment by concern.

Tooth shrugged as she flitted down to join Jack. "Not so much locked out as...the way into the Warren changed, and we hadn't been talking very well for a good fifty years or so by that point, and Bunny forgot to tell us, and we hadn't gone to the Warren without him...we hadn't even gone down there more than a few times at that, so..."

"Oh..." Jack said softly, hands twisting on his staff. Tooth laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"Jack, it's...you've made things better," she said, leaning in close, turning until she could look at his face. "We're talking again, more than we have since we first met. We're aware of it, now, of how we slipped apart. We're not going to let it happen again, Jack."

Jack didn't answer, and Tooth took to the air to face him, taking his free hand in hers. "Jack, it won't. We're watching each other, and we're going to call each other out if we start back sliding. I promise, Jack," she said, and there was power in the promise of a spirit, more in the promise of a Guardian, of a Queen, and Jack leaned into the hand she laid against his cheek, finally smiling.

"Yeah, okay, well...I'm calling all of you out from now on," he half joked, half threatened.

Tooth smiled back. "We're counting on it," she said. "Now let's go tease Bunny."

* * *

The two of them slipped into the Warren. One of the Sentry Rocks turned to face them, its top twisting and grinding until it looked at them with its concerned expression.

Tooth shushed it, giggling, as she and Jack slipped past. With a little jiggle, almost as if it were shrugging, the rock settled back into place silently as the pair stole deeper into the Warren.

Bunny had put up more spells to let him keep track of the Warren after Easter 2012, but he hadn't bothered to make them warn him of the approach of a fellow Guardian.

That was about to prove a mistake.

Bunny was crouched on his back legs, leaning over a small plot of ground he was weeding, careful and slow.

Tooth and Jack snuck up from behind him, smothering their giggles and freezing each time his ears flickered, threatening to expose them with his sensitive hearing.

Jack and Tooth paused, looking at each other. They really hadn't planned what they would do if they managed to get this far.

Then Jack shrugged and flung himself at Bunny with a happy yell of Bunny's name, Tooth following a second behind.

Bunny honked in surprise as the two lean bodies tackled him from behind, taking all three of them to the ground.

They rolled and tumbled down the short slope Bunny had been crouched next to, landing atop Bunny as he flopped onto his back, both of them clinging and laughing.

Bunny, for his part, was staring at the roof of this Warren. " 'Strewth, where did tha' come from?" he grumbled, but the complaining was rendered moot by the arms that snaked around Jack and Tooth, pulling them closer.

Tooth responded by wrapping her arms tighter around Bunny, snuggling into the fur at his side. Both paused, suddenly realizing what she had done, the casual intimacy of it, even if they could play it off as platonic, waiting for Jack's move.

After a second, he mimicked Tooth, hugging Bunny tight, without the familiarity of Tooth's hug but with more affection than either of them had dared hope for. "Gotcha," he said brightly. Then, with a gleam in his eyes of pure mischief, he dug icy cold hands under Bunny's fur.

Bunny yelped, and Jack cackled, leaping away onto a breeze. "You'll never catch me!" he called, and sped off.

Bunny and Tooth exchanged a look, huge and smiling. The chase was a huge part of Pookan courtship, one they had all very much enjoyed...especially the prize at the end.

Which, of course, they wouldn't have for this chase, but even if Jack didn't know just what he'd done, the challenge was laid down, and Bunny was off after him.

Jack was fast on the wind, but Bunny was just as fast on the ground, powerful hind legs giving him an advantage, as did knowing the Warren in ways Jack hadn't yet learned.

Tooth flittered behind them. She could have caught up if she tried, but she was enjoying the show far too much for that.

Jack zipped and darted, his lead slowly dwindling. He was laughing, the sound trailing behind him light and airy as his snowflakes, twisting in midair until he was too high for Bunny to reach.

"Cheater!" Bunny called up to him.

"There's no cheating in the Chase!" Tooth called from behind him, laughing.

"Yeah, no cheating in the Chase!" Jack repeated, still laughing.

"Traitor!" Bunny called back to Tooth, the accusation softened by the cackling laughter accompanying the word.

It seemed that if Jack was willing to cheat, and Tooth enabling him, then Bunny wasn't above it either. He gathered himself mid stride and leapt, landing atop one of the huge stones of the Warren, and using it to propel himself upward.

Jack yelped, twisting out of the way. Bunny snatched out, catching an ankle on the way past and sending them both to the ground.

Bunny landed first, twisting in midair so the smaller, lighter Jack would land on top of him. They both laid there, stunned, for a brief moment as Tooth caught up to them, worrying and hovering.

Worrying until Jack barked out a laugh and tried to leap back into the air, at least. Bunny snagged him around the waist and the two of them were sent tumbling down the short hill they hadn't seen, landing with a great splash in the Color River.


	27. Chapter 27

Jack froze as the water closed over his head, but barely had time for it to register before he was shoved to the surface. Bunny erupted from the brightly colored water next to him, still hanging on to Jack.

Jack was clinging tighter to Bunny now that his head was above the water, just taking deep breaths and holding on so tight it pulled painfully on Bunny's fur. Bunny, whose first instinct had been to curse the air blue before laughing hysterically, had bitten both down when he felt how tightly Jack was hanging onto him and instead walked carefully though the water, slower than usual so they wouldn't take another tumble. Tooth hovered overhead, reaching out and pulling back, ready to snatch at either of them if Bunny slipped.

It seemed an eternity until Bunny reached dry land, though in actuality it only took about fifteen seconds.

He fell onto the bank, letting Jack settle beside him. Jack let go after another second, coughing softly and scrubbing at his hair, sending colored ice flying.

"You okay, there, Snowflake?" Bunny asked as Jack shook the last of the ice out of his hair. "You sorta froze up there on me, pardon the pun."

Jack chuckled softly, though it was a bit strained. "Uh, yeah, that was...didn't expect that," he said. "The water or the reaction. You're good?"

"Bit 'o dousing ain't gonna hurt," Bunny said, before looking down at himself. "Gettin' th' color out's gonna be a pain, though."

Jack plucked at his own hoodie. The colors didn't show up well on the blue background, like they did on Bunny's pristine white stomach which now was colored a pastel rainbow, but it was still discolored. "Gonna take a lot of work to fix this..." he muttered.

Bunny stood, groaning. "Come on, got some stuff ta get it outta cloth back at th' Burrow. We can have tea an' you kin tell me 'n Toothie what happened there."

* * *

"So, that was new," Jack said, cautiously accepting the mug of tea and salad Bunny had quickly prepped. "It was like I just locked up as soon as my head went under water. Total panic."

"Did that ever happen before, can you remember?" Tooth asked, holding her own mug close, waiting for Jack.

"Well, I didn't exactly make a habit of swimming," Jack said dryly. "I think it was the surprise."

"That and remembering," Tooth said sadly.

"I'm pretty sure it was mostly the shock of it," Jack said. "Happened that fast then, too. I think the question for the moment is how we're going to get Bunny back to normal."

"One, stop deflecting," Bunny said, puffing up in irritation as they both turned to look at him and his multicolor fur, "An' two, yer hair's as bad as my fur, fer all ya got most o' it out wi' the ice."

Jack blinked a few times before tugging a lock down to where he could see it, going cross eyed to look as Tooth covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

The dye job wasn't quite as vibrant as Bunny's thanks to the quick freezing, but there was still pastel colors faded throughout Jack hair. He tugged at his hoodie with a frown.

"I look like the Easter Elf. Do you think we can salvage any of this?" he asked. "I don't exactly have a lot of clothes around. I know North's been after me to let him make me a new hoodie, I just..."

He trailed off, not sure how to explain.

"That one's special?" Tooth suggested softly, touching the sleeve of Jack's hoodie. "Well, if anyone knows how to get these dyes out, it'll be Bunny."

"There is no Easter Elf," Bunny grumbled. "C'mon, Snowflake, I'll show ya where ya can wash th' last o' it outta yer hair while I get it out of th' clothes," Bunny said, gesturing for Jack to follow him. "We'll let ya drop it fer now, but we all gotta stop keeping things to ourselves."

Jack grumbled softly before following. He left his staff in the kitchen, a gesture both Bunny and Tooth noticed but didn't comment on. Or at least, he left it once he'd found a place to lean it where it wouldn't end up covered in paint or knocking something over. The dye had already frozen and flaked off of it before it could soak into the wood, unlike Jack's clothes.

And he proceeded to argue with Bunny about the most colorful of North's elves the entire way to the bathroom.

The bath was just down the hall, and Bunny pointed out the shampoo he used for getting the dye out of his fur when the inevitable accidents happened and where the robes were, for when one of the other Guardians had an accident, before waiting outside the door for Jack's clothes.

* * *

Jack was done before the clothes were, sitting bundled up in one of the thick terry robes Bunny kept around at the kitchen table. The robes for Tooth were too small, as were the ones for Sandy, so Jack was bundled into one of the ones meant for North, which was comically huge on him.

Bunny bit back chuckles before letting them free, patting the tuft of hair that was all he could see of Jack out of the top of the robe. "There was one fer you in there, Snowflake," he said. "Didn't ya see it?"

"Um..." Jack's voice said, faintly muffled by the terrycloth surrounding him. "Uh...no?"

"No sense in changin' over now," Bunny said with a shrug, exchanging glances with Tooth. He couldn't say for her, but he was enjoying Jack in North's robe too much to want him to change out of it, or to question too hard why Jack had taken that robe instead of the one meant for him.

Though if he had to guess, he'd say it looked too much like the one meant for Tooth, and made a mental note to do something about that later. No point in having them all be white terrycloth when they all had signature colors. He'd have to get Nightlight and Katherine's out of storage soon, a little embroidery on the backs and collars would go a long way towards not only making them all different, but giving Jack another tangible sign that he was loved and wanted.

"Yer clothes shouldn't take long," Bunny said, sitting at the table. "Mostly jus' need ta dry now. So...wanna tell us wha' th' panic was about, mate?" he asked, gently. "I mean, I can guess, since ya tol' us stuff before, but..."

"I don't even know why it happened," Jack complained from the depths of North's robe. "I've gone underwater before! I even tried it after I learned...Sophie was swimming," he added quickly as an explanation. "It was part of a game and I didn't want her going under by herself."

"Probably 'cuz it was warm and you were ready for it," Bunny said reasonably. "You think yer gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Jack said after a second, a second where he had to take stock, to try and understand what had happened and why, before letting it drop with a smile and a surge of love towards the two spirits facing him with such concern, such support. "I really am."

* * *

Jack was finally dry, and so were his clothes, so he went into one of the many rooms of the Warren to change. During the conversation that went on while waiting for them to dry (Bunny was still colorful, was going to wait until Jack and Tooth left to start working to get it out of his fur unless they offered to help brush it out before then), Bunny had mentioned wanting to show Tooth in particular something in the Warren, as well as show Jack a few things, so at Jack's urging the two of them went ahead.

He wanted a minute on his own to think over what happened, anyway. And, though Jack hadn't admitted it, to think about what had happened, to have a moment to relish that moment when he and Bunny and Tooth had all been tumbled together in a pile, hugging and laughing.

While Jack did that, Bunny lead Tooth through to Warren, suddenly giddy and nervous.

Tooth was obviously beginning to get suspicious as the swirls of golden flowers began to appear, dotted among other flowers and leading the way.

"So I fixed yer mural, and Ah did up a new one wi' the eggs from Easter of 2012," Bunny said as he lead Tooth deeper in, the swirls of golden flowers growing larger and more numerous as they went, converging on the ivy hidden opening before them, like golden roads leading the way to treasure. "But this took a bit longer. Yer th' first ta see," he added, carefully pulling the ivy out of the way and letting Tooth flutter in through the opening before him.

Tooth emerged from the short tunnel into the sunlight and stopped short with a soft gasp, hands flying up to cover her mouth.

She remembered these gardens from long, long ago, when they'd first decided this would be a real marriage, not an alliance, but a marriage based on love and friendship, and they had each honored that in their own way. For Bunny, it had been in the creation of a Marriage Garden, a place that would grow along with them.

But back then, each section had been separate, to symbolize each one of them as individuals. It was formal but loving, much like Bunny had been at the time.

The whole thing was different now. Flowers bloomed and spilled into each other, in an arrangement only a spirit connected to plants and growing them could have managed.

There was a pond now, with a small waterfall trickling into it adding its music to the cup of a valley. A tree much like the one beside Tooth's own pond stood beside it, with water lilies dotting the waters along one shore. Along the other stood pines and birch, birch like the ones growing along Jack's pond, pines like the ones people pictured when they thought of North and Christmas.

Swirls of golden flowers continued throughout the entire garden, their shape mimicking Sandy's Dreamsand.

Mint mingled with bright red and white flowers, with the huge, bright flowers in Tooth's purples and golds, bright patches of white snowdrops in the cooler spots of the valley.

There were the hyacinths that Katherine loved, and the moonflowers and morning glories trailing up the walls that made them all think of Nightlight.

It was serene, it was a riot of color, it was...it was all of them, in flower form, and ringed by roses, roses of pink and white and yellow and deep, deep red, roses of white with their edges tipped in pink, in every color of rose that Bunny could find. All of the Guardians represented in flowers and trees and ringed by flowers declaring Bunny's feeling for them in bold swaths of color.

"Oh, Bunny," Tooth breathed, hardly daring to break the quiet of the vale, the music of the waterfall. "Aster, it's perfect."

Bunny's ears flickered, and if he could have, he would have been blushing. "Well, they ain't perfect," he said, "but they're as close as I kin get. An' this time, I'm gonna remember ta let 'em grow an' change," he added, loping up to Tooth's side. "I hope ya'll come an' sit in 'em sometimes."

Now that there was no audience, Tooth felt no hesitation in cuddling up to Bunny's side, letting his arm loop around her comfortably.

"We were getting pretty close to flirting with Jack today," Tooth said softly, playing with Bunny's fur. "I...we had a courting flight before we got here. I didn't tell Jack that was what it was, but I wanted to show off for him."

"And that was definitely a proper Chase earlier," Bunny agreed. "Didn't mean it ta be, but it was one. Think Jackie's really ready for all that?"

"We have to start somewhere," Tooth said after a moment of thought. "Small like this. Jack trusts us enough now to tell us to stop if we make him uncomfortable. Both of these were as much for fun as they were to flirt, that part was secondary, so...we should be okay. I think. I hope."

And Bunny could sense that hope, strong and sweet, both that Jack would say if he wanted them to stop – and that he wouldn't want them to. That he might even reciprocate it.

They sat and contemplated the gardens for a few more minutes, content to lean on each other and sit in silence.

Finally Tooth sat up, immediately regretting moving away from Bunny's side. "We need to go back, before Jack comes looking for us," she said. "If we want to keep this a surprise."

"Yeah..." Bunny said regretfully. "I heard Katherine and North're cooking up some kind of surprise of their own," he added, loping towards Tooth and the tunnel. "Ah wanted ta show 'em this, but...you heard anything?"

"Same as you – but that's mostly because North isn't as good at hiding secrets as he thinks he is," Tooth said as they emerged back into the main Warren. "As much as I love him, I'm a bit surprised he's kept some things secret as long as he has."

"What secret?" Jack's voice asked, and both spirits jumped, literally in Bunny's case, with a startled honk to boot.

From where he was perched on the wall above them, Jack chuckled, floating down and twisting to face them. "What secret?" he repeated.

"We're not sure," Tooth said before Bunny could crack and spill the big secret they were all keeping in his surprise. "North and Katherine are cooking something up, but they didn't tell anyone, we've just known North long enough to learn all his tells."

"Well, the last surprise was good," Jack said, obviously thinking out loud as he perched on his staff. "Maybe this one will be too. Katherine's in on it?"

"We think so, been awhile since she's been around an' had a secret but she's actin' just a tinge smug," Bunny said lowering his voice faux conspiratorially. "She always did act smug when she had a surprise fer us."

"Hmmm..." Jack said, shifting his weight on the staff, his balance on it something no other Guardian had yet to unlock the secret of. "We could wait...or we could find Katherine and tickle her until she tell us."

That startled a laugh out of both older Guardians. Jack faked a pout.

"What, you don't think it would work?"

"Ah think Katherine might be trickier than all three of us put together, mate," Bunny said ruefully. "Don' think a littl' ticklin'll do it."

"Bunny what have you done," Tooth hissed as Jack froze, head slowly tilting. Then a grin spread over his face, and they both felt a shiver go down their spines that had nothing to do with cold.

"Jack, no," Bunny cautioned.

Jack's grin grew bigger if it were possible.

"Okay right gotta go see you later bye!" Jack said, so rapidly it was all one word, and he took off, leaving a trail of snowflakes hanging behind him in his wake, rapidly disappearing even as the snowflakes drifted down and melted before they hit the ground.

In the wake of Jack's rapid escape, the two spirits looked at each other with growing concern.

"This will not end well," Tooth said faintly.


	28. Chapter 28

Katherine was in her room at Santoff Claussen. It was almost the opposite in many ways to her room on the ship, and she hadn't realized until now just how much she missed this room, this place, this feeling.

The lamps were lit, and the evening cool and quiet, all calm and serene. Mr. QWERTY was lying, still slumbering, on the desk near where she worked. So far, nothing was waking him, but Katherine hoped the familiar sounds and scents of Big Root might urge him towards wakefulness.

Kailash was in her nest outside the tree, occasionally honking quietly to herself as she fussed with the sticks and treasures arraigned within the space. Nightlight was in the branches at the top of the tree, gazing out at the stars and thinking.

Katherine herself was writing in one of her many books. This one was a compilation of tales about the Guardians, a way to monitor the stories told about them and all their different iterations, including the occasional very strange stories that could sometimes throw their powers for a loop when belief in that version of their story waxed and waned.

Jack needed a chapter, and though Katherine was eager to fill write the chapter, it was a little depressing so far how few stories she had yet to fill it with. Next time she was with Jack, Katherine decided, she was going to have to tease more stories out of him. And maybe this time get some more details, seeing how few he'd gone into when it came to General Winter.

She would have to press harder next time, keep Jack from spinning it around on them, Katherine decided, tapping her pen against her cheek and smiling. What an improvement it was, this ingenious little thing, she thought idly. Ask someone from Santoff Claussen for a pen that didn't require fussing with inkwells and they would have created something amazing, surely, but it wouldn't have been so...simple, so non-frilled and practical, as the pens created in the last five hundred years.

This new world was amazing, and Jack was the cherry on top, Katherine decided, allowing herself to be sentimental in this moment, this space of peace and quiet and calm that seemed to call for such thoughts.

At least, it was, until her window flew open with a bang, letting in a rush of colder than seasonable air with a rush of snowflakes.

Katherine cried out in surprise, the cry turning into a laugh as she was tackled back onto the bed by a blur of blue and brown and white that resolved itself into a laughing Jack Frost, who had already backed off and was hovering over the bed rather than lying atop her as he had been for a few happy seconds.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully.

Katherine blew curl that had come lose from her ponytail out of her face. "Hello yourself," she said, levering herself upright. "What caused you to blow in like the North Wind? I do have a regular door, you know." She kept her tone light and teasing, so Jack wouldn't think she was actually upset, and was relaxed when he took it as the teasing it was.

After all, her windows were kept open and unlocked for Jack and Nightlight.

"Well," Jack drawled, floating down to perch on Katherine's bed, "I was with Bunny and Tooth and it happened to come up that you and North are keeping a se~cret," he said the last in a sing song, and Katherine tensed.

"Not just from me, from everyone else too," Jack continued, still watching Katherine, shifting to cross his arms, staff propped against the foot of her bed. "North's got tells that Bunny and Tooth know. So start talking, or I start tickling!"

Katherine had been debating telling Jack something – not the secret itself, but something, since this wasn't about the marriage – but now? Now it was a challenge.

She laughed and leapt off the bed, darting to the door. "Not a chance, Snow Boy! Come and get me!"

With that, she was off, darting through Big Root and whistling for Kailash, who she could hear honking in response outside, followed by the rushing thunder that was Kailash taking off.

Behind her, Jack was cackling, a cold wind down the back of her neck letting her know he was close.

She leapt over the frost and ice at the bottom of the stairs – none on the actual steps, a small part of her noticed, and far enough away she wasn't in danger of hurting herself on them if she did fall – and out the door onto Kailash.

They were airborne seconds later, nearly knocking the startled Nightlight out of his perch in the top of Big Root. He tumbled off his branch, clutching onto it and staring after her with eyes gone huge and mouth open in a silent yelp.

"She's got a secret!" she heard Jack yell to Nightlight behind her. "Help me tickle it out of her!"

And his laughter was joined by Nightlight's brighter laugh as they set off after her.

"I might have given you a hint," Katherine yelled over her shoulder, the words almost drowned out by wind and laughter. "But not now!"

For all Kailash was huge, she was fast, and what she lacked in maneuverability she made up for with endurance.

Which usually gave them an edge – they could outfly anything that didn't out maneuver them – but it didn't help as much when one of the spirits in hot pursuit was riding the wind.

Kailash ducked and wove and dodged, with many a close call from the much smaller, more agile spirits chasing her.

It was helping that, while the twosome wanted to catch her, they didn't want to risk making Kailash crash.

It didn't help that the wind Jack rode was cold, and he got Kailash with a blast of icy air that made the goose honk in shock and astonishment and indignation.

She tried to roll out of the way and got a snowball to the middle of Katherine's back for her troubles.

They were getting closer to warmer climes when Kailash finally zigged where she should have zagged and found herself with an extra passenger, Jack's hand's slipping under Kailash's feathers for a cold surprise.

Katherine was still laughing even as Kailash made an undignified and clumsy landing. She tumbled off Kailash's back and set off running, only to be tackled by Nightlight.

The two tumbled over each other, laughing and wrestling, and it could have easily turned heated if Jack hadn't been there.

As it was, two sets of fingers – one warm, and one cool – snuck their way to finding Katherine's most ticklish spots as she shrieked with laughter.

Kailash watched them all curiously, settling down far enough away to not get caught up in the silliness, honking softly to herself indignantly as she fixed her ruffled feathers.

The trio rolled over and over in the grass of the field they'd landed in, none able to hold the upper hand for long.

"It's a surprise!" Katherine finally shrieked as the boys got her pinned, kicking and squealing. "It's a surprise and you'll find out at the next meeting and I'm not telling!"

With that, she was released, and Jack and Nightlight collapsed on either side of her, all three of them still laughing.

"I will have my revenge," Katherine swore when she had her breath back, though it was a little hard to take seriously through all the giggles. "I will."

Jack rolled over onto his stomach, grinning. "One, two, three four, I declare a prank war?" he said, sending Nightlight and Katherine back into giggles.

"You'll never see it coming," she vowed when she could speak again.

"I am a spirit of mischief," Jack said, hand to his chest and projecting snootiness. "I'd like to see you try."

"That sounds like a challenge," Katherine shot back, sitting up. Nightlight grinned brightly, nodding in agreement.

Jack paused before taking his courage in both hands, although considering the way the three of them had been tangled around each other it seemed it would be accepted, and floated upward just high enough to flop over Katherine and Nightlight.

"Bring it on," he said over their laughter, squeaking when Kailash decided to get involved and poked him in the stomach curiously with her beak, rolling off the other two.

There was more giggling as Kailash honked with satisfaction, briefly preened Jack's hair, and returned to her spot with a flicker of wings and fluffing of feathers.

All three laid there for a while, none speaking but occasionally bursting into another bout of giggles.

After awhile, Jack sighed, a puff of frost coming from his mouth as he did. "Hey, so...no one ever really told me what happened between the two of you and...and Pitch. I dunno if they told you what happened between him and me. Did they?"

Nightlight and Katherine shifted just enough to look at each other before Katherine answered, surprised at the sudden shift of mood and conversation. "It was...it was pretty bad," she said finally. "I think he was in a pretty bad place then. And...it got brought up, but I didn't get details. Neither of us did. Why?"

"I just..." Jack tilted his head back in the grass, holding up a hand to look at it against the sky. He sighed, and said, "I dunno. I just..." He sighed again. "After I was down in Antarctica...the others thought I'd betrayed them 'cuz I was late and that's where I went, I'll tell you about what happened with Pitch later, but yeah, he distracted me while things went down...I met Pitch down there. We fought, because of course we did, but then...he was talking about wishing for a family. Wanting someone that understood. And...I get that. I was alone for three hundred years, mostly. It took awhile to find the Sneurguchka and the tricksters and they're all busy...I know the timing was bad, but..."

"You're wondering about redeeming Pitch," Katherine said, sitting up on her elbows.

"Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't have brought it up to you," Jack began to apologize, cut off by Katherine.

"No, it's okay, why would you think I wouldn't..."

"Well you and Sandy, and maybe Nightlight I'm not sure, you guys were the worst hurt by him," Jack said. "I mean, I didn't exactly have a fun time either, and he violated the Warren during Easter of 2012, so I know it might be a lost cause but I still think he was telling the truth then and it wasn't him trying to manipulate me. But I really didn't have anything to do with him until then so I just don't know! But...I'm so happy now and I...I remember it every so often and I wonder...if I could have ended up like that...if Pitch could be different, if he had some...I dunno, hope I guess."

Katherine hummed, sitting up to hug her knees.

"No one else really wants to talk about it," Jack continued, still looking up at the sky. "I didn't really want to bring it up."

"I could," Katherine said, picking a piece of grass and running it though her fingers. "If you wanted some help feeling out how everyone felt about the idea."

"You're okay with the idea?" Jack asked, rolling onto his stomach to look at her and Nightlight somewhat incredulously. "I mean, I don't know what he did but it must have been pretty bad if you had to leave for that long."

Katherine and Nightlight exchanged another look, Nightlight flickering quickly in his form of speech rather than speaking his thoughts aloud.

Now that he thought of it, Jack didn't think he'd heard Nightlight's voice yet. But then again, if he didn't like to physically speak, and Katherine understood his light...why speak out loud? He was probably as out of practice with that as Jack had been with physical touch.

He was shaken from the thoughts when Katherine spoke. "Well...yes, we were hurt, and badly," she said slowly. "But it also sounds like things were...were worse, then. Like he was more cruel."

Jack looked at her flatly. "He shot Sandy in the back," he said dryly.

"I said more cruel, I didn't say he couldn't still be cruel now," she replied, just as dry. "And of course, there's the question of how long you keep trying before realizing that it's hopeless. But we could always try again. And it almost sounds like he has changed and softened a bit since...since everything."

Jack flopped back onto the ground. "I don't think he's ready yet, but I do think someone should check on him once in awhile. Make sure he's, I dunno, not falling into the traps I almost did. And not plotting another big disaster because no one believes in him."

Katherine broke into giggles while Nightlight stared at Jack incredulously. "Are you serious?" she finally said though the giggles. "That's why it all went down?"

"Hey, it really sucks," Jack said defensively. "I have three hundred years of that below the belt and it is the absolute worst."

"I'm not trying to say it's not awful, it's just...it's a big step from what he used to want."

Jack flipped over yet again and rose to his knees, putting on a bad imitation of Pitch. "There will be nothing but fear and darkness...and _me_ ," he said. "It's your turn not to be believed in. That's a direct quote."

Katherine and Nightlight were left staring at Jack again, for long enough he was tempted to check he hadn't sprouted a second head.

"He...he really said that?" Katherine finally said. "Like, that way? With those words?"

"Uh...yeah? I mean I exaggerated the Pitch voice a little but I was still pretty close?" Jack said, now a bit confused himself.

"He wasn't much concerned with being believed in before," Katherine explained. "He just...the fearlings, these creatures of pure fear, they'd taken control of him once, and he was going to turn the children of the world into more of them. And he wanted a fearling prince or princess. Maybe he really has gotten better."

"Never heard anything about them. But, I repeat, shot Sandy in the back," Jack said. "And I'm still a bit pissed about the whole 'threatening Baby Tooth, breaking my staff'," at that, Nightlight clutched his own staff closer, as if protecting it, the crystal on top flaring for a moment, "and the 'throwing me in a ravine' bit. Mostly, mostly the Baby Tooth bit really, since we were fighting, but she and the other baby teeth are...yanno, like Tooth's kids."

"And while that seemed pretty permanent, Sandy did come back," Katherine pointed out. "Still getting used to the new change of the fairies – they used to be part of Tooth. I don't know, maybe I'm being too optimistic, but..."

Jack made a little noise of agreement and they all fell back into silence, lost to their own thoughts and the pleasure of the company of the other two.

Eventually, without realizing it, they shifted closer, until they laid in a circle, holding hands as they stared up into the stars.


	29. Chapter 29

"A party?" Bunny repeated blankly.

North beamed at everyone sitting around the table. Katherine glanced between him and Jack, nodding meaningfully when she caught Jack's eye.

"This was your surprise?" Jack said cautiously.

North looked a bit hurt now that his idea wasn't getting the reaction he seemed to have expected. "What? Want other spirits to meet Jack as Guardian. Want to meet Jack's friends. Combine two stones and one bird, yes?"

"Uh, you're forgetting that a lot of spirits don't like me," Jack said. "I'm Jack Frost, remember? I make a mess wherever I go? Lots of spirits don't like Winter spirits on principle, add in the whole trickster thing and they don't want anything to do with me."

"Jack..." Tooth began to say, cut off when Jack waved his arms.

"No, no, it's cool, I get it, most Winter spirits are assholes, I get it," Jack said with a self-deprecating chuckle. "Pretty sure even you guys had some reservations about having me join. I know Bunny did. So, like, why bring them all in one place, North?"

"Because will be with you," North said firmly. "Will be there to show all that you are Guardian now. Do not mess with Jack Frost. He is Guardian, and other Guardians stand with and care for him. And is party. Is fun. Should celebrate Jack joining us."

Jack paused, and the others looked away to give him a moment to compose himself as the tears welled up.

"Also, will give chance to meet other spirits, reconnect after many years of being, how did Jack say it? 'Cooped up in hideout bribing kids'?"

"Jack, did you really?" Katherine hissed, barely holding back laughter.

Jack, finally having recovered, grinned back sheepishly and shrugged. "I'd just gotten tossed in a sack and had a group that never noticed I existed before insist I wanted to join them. I was kinda mad."

"Is fair. But now can meet Jack's friends and re-establish own friendships!" North announced. "Will take time to put party together, but wanted input."

"There's a first," Bunny mumbled to Tooth and Sandy, who covered giggles. "When were ya gonna have this thing?"

North shrugged. "Was thinking around Midsummer? Katherine has been double checking, but it seems few spirits have duties around that time, unless they are year round duties. Can send out invites after all is ready. Jack, will you help make sure do not leave out spirits?"

"Well, I can try, but I'd like you to refer to my previous statement about other spirits and me," Jack said, leaning back to kick his feet up on the table.

"You do know the Snegurochka," Tooth said, reading Sandy's sand images. "Spirits like that, who get forgotten."

"Oh, that I can do," Jack said, cheering up. "The girls can't stay indoors for long, though."

North nodded, Phil already jotting that down. "Is good to know. Otherwise would not have thought of it." He grinned, beaming like a child eager to share their new toy.

"Eh, can't be worse than the last time we threw a party, right?" Bunny said. "I'm in."

"Bunny, was..." North began to say, playfully scolding, before needing to pause. "Mussorgsky, has been since just after Nightlight and Katherine left! Is about time we had other party."

"What...?" Jack whispered to Tooth. Sandy gave a huge grin while Tooth blushed.

"If you can imagine it, it probably happened," she whispered back. "The way spirits would behave was...underestimated. Hopefully the yeti remember as well as I do."

Jack muffled a chuckle, leaning back in his chair again. "You might want to remind them," he said. "Not everyone's the Guardian of Memories."

The yeti in question were passing out the food for the meeting now, too heavy to be a snack yet too light for a full meal, appropriate food for each of them, which apparently was one of the little things that had improved since Jack had joined them.

Jack eyed the plate set in front of Katherine and tapped the bottom of the table top. Instantly frost spread from his fingers, shooting across the table and freezing the food on Katherine's plate solid.

Katherine wasn't paying attention to her food and didn't notice – until she picked up her spoon and attempted to scoop up a bite. The 'clink' of the spoon hitting the frozen food and the jarring of the utensil in her hand caught the attention of the table as she stared down at her food in surprise.

Jack burst out laughing as Katherine stared at her food, dumbfounded.

The other Guardians looked between the two, heads whipping back and forth rapidly. Jack hadn't pranked any of them since that rash of mean spirited pranking, meant to drive them away from him. So why now, with Katherine?

Meanwhile, Katherine was still tapping her frozen food lightly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Sending the first volley, I see," she said, the smile winning. "That's two I owe you."

"Bring it on," Jack tossed back. "I've got one in, I'll give you the first since we hadn't declared war then." He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. "I'm a prank _master_."

"Well I'd say it's time you got a taste of your own medicine," Katherine said. "And you know what they say about making that go down."

With that cue, Nightlight darted in a dumped a spoonful of sugar into Jack's bowl.

Katherine giggled as Jack blinked at the bowl, dumbfounded. "I found North's movie collection. I don't think he's watched any of it, but I did."

Jack snatched up the bowl. "I'll still eat it," he declared, shoveling a huge spoonful into his mouth.

"Jack no!" Tooth wailed, echoed by her fairies, as Jack took the first bite.

" 's a toofbrush in m' room," Jack mumbled through the mouthful. "I'll brsh, I'll brsh. Ugh, too sweet. Still eatin' it."

Katherine turned to look at the other Guardians as the snickering yeti replaced her plate and took Jack's after a brief tug-of-war, handing it down to the elves that swarmed the bowl. "By the way, we've declared a prank war. Original rules still apply, starting now."

"Wait, rules?" Jack said, picking up the new bowl the grumbling yeti set in front of him. The yeti shook a mildly scolding finger at Nightlight, the fur hiding most of their grin as they strode off.

"Nothing that interferes with Guardian duties or holidays," Katherine began, counting them off on her fingers, "Nothing that can't be undone within twenty four hours, and if the prankee doesn't end up laughing it's not a good prank. Reasonable?"

"Huh. Okay then. Fair enough. Agreed," Jack said, and the Guardians breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't like last time, not at all. "This is gonna be fun."

He paused, and pointed at the rest of the Guardians. "You're not immune. Brace yourselves, this time it's a real prank war."

Sandy sent up a few quick images, and Jack was nodding before they were done. "Yeah, last time wasn't the real thing, it was...yeah," he said, drooping.

Sandy smirked back, tapping his fingers together evilly, and Jack laughed, mood instantly lifted.

"Yeah, like that," he agreed.

"Wait," said Bunny. "Nightlight...and Jack...and Katherine...are gonna have...a prank war?"

Sandy sent up symbols of hands pointing to himself, bouncing in place and grinning with glee. Then he smirked again and the hands pointed to everyone else in the room, one at a time.

"We might not make it until the party," Bunny said flatly.

* * *

North opened the door to his office absently, holding the list of potential spirits to invite to his party (at this point, every spirit the yeti and Katherine could find out about) and studying it intently. It would have to be cut down, of course, but just who to invite and who not...

He was so deep into it that it took almost a full minute to register that something was wrong.

Finally sensing something was off, he lowered the page and blinked a few times came face to face with a row of plastic Santa decorations, each standing a good five feet tall, yet they remained, no hallucination but reality.

Then, as one, they moved. Swinging arms and hips, still in eerie unison, they sang in a voice that was almost but not quite human, _"You better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out,"_ over and over again.

North stared at them blankly until a giggle drew his eyes to the window, and a pair of upside down heads crowned in pure white hair visible only from the eyes up looked back at him before ducking up out of sight.

North continued to blink at the window as the Santa decorations continued their ominous song until he let out a snort, followed a second later by bellowing laughter.

On the roof, able to hear him clearly, Nightlight and Jack exchanged high-fives.

Just because it was a prank war didn't mean they couldn't be temporary allies.

* * *

The fact that their alliance was temporary was proven when Jack sprang out at Nightlight a day later at Big Root, singing "I've Got No Strings" at the top of his lungs and blasting Nightlight with silly string.

Nightlight fell over with a squeal, giggling and ineffectively flailing as the string coated him, tumbling about on the ground as Jack refused to let up until the can was empty, and Jack got a second laugh after they cleaned Nightlight off and found out the string had temporarily dyed his pale, glowing skin and hair with lines of bright, neon green.

* * *

Bunny entered his warren cautiously, inch by inch. First twitching nose, scenting the air, then eyes scanning the land around him, followed by ears twitching anxiously to catch any sound.

It was quiet, no scents reaching his nose that didn't belong, and he inched his way into the Warren before standing and stretching.

He took two bounds into the Warren proper, hit something across the path, some invisible barrier that gave way after his full weight hit it, and fell to the ground, sprawling across the path.

Whatever it had been fluttered in the wind, stretched between two of his Sentinel Eggs and now ripped down the middle, and Jack, from atop one Egg, looked down at him in worry.

"You okay there?" he called down.

Bunny got up, shaking his head before planting paws on hips and half heartedly glaring up at Jack.

" 'm fine. Wha' was tha'?"

"Oh. Good," Jack said before laughing. Bunny rolled his eyes and ignored the cackling winter spirit to examine the strange clear stuff.

"Oh by the way I'm borrowing some water from the color river thanks see ya later!" Jack announced, all of it in a rush before setting off.

Bunny paused, briefly debated going after Jack and stopping him, before shrugging and examining the plastic again.

* * *

Nightlight, Jack, and Sandy hovered above the forest outside Burgess, looking down between the trees, prank war temporarily suspended in the face of an emergency.

Jack had known about the opening in the forest to Pitch's lair, but it had been closed right after the battle. He'd been shocked and surprised to see it and the rusty bedstand again in the forest, and rushed off to find another Guardian.

A year ago Jack might have gone down by himself, even half a year ago he would have gone down and only remembered that he could call for help when he was in over his head.

But now...now Jack went and got backup, got Sandy and Nightlight, both of whom created their own light and wouldn't be affected by Pitch's darkness, who could watch his back as he watched theirs, to go and investigate.

Katherine had just gotten back from healing, and wasn't ready to confront even a softer, different Pitch. North was waist deep in planning and loud and, love him though Jack had begun to, didn't seem to be the one Jack wanted for this particular information gathering mission. Bunny and Tooth might have been holding a grudge (Bunny a little more than Tooth – she felt her punch had helped to even the scales for her girls) but Sandy, for some reason, wasn't much. Wanting to scold Pitch, yes, but not so much get even. So even though Jack wanted to keep Sandy away from Pitch awhile longer...most of the others were out.

And Nightlight was intrigued by the idea that Pitch had softened over the years, settled into his role as The Boogeyman, and insisted on coming as strongly as Sandy had.

So now the three of them hovered over the trees, looking down at the entrance below and hesitating.

"Do you think he's recovered yet?" Jack said finally. "I mean, he did get dragged down there by Nightmares, but..."

Sandy's images were a jumble, incomprehensible for anyone outside the Guardians, but Jack had been working on it since he'd joined to understand.

" _I'm not sure, but it's open. He's gotten somewhat better at least."_

" _I vote we go look!"_ Nightlight said through flashes of light, already spinning towards the ground.

Jack whooped and followed. Sandy reached out a hand, as if to call them to wait, before rolling his eyes and following after.

Nightlight and Jack had stopped flanking the hole, so similar in this moment they looked like statues carved of marble standing guard over the entrance.

Sandy joined them, and Jack looked to him. "You and Nightlight faced him more than me. Think we should do this?"

" _Probably not. Let's do it."_

Jack looked down the hole again, looking up at Nightlight when he laid a gentle hand on his arm.

"I'm okay. Just...stick close down there. Let's do this thing." And with that, Jack leapt into the hole, followed closely by Nightlight and Sandy.

* * *

A/N: Last chapter, I hinted at a possible Pitch redemption going into this story. I haven't made it clear yet – to be perfectly honest, I haven't 100% decided yet – how much of the book canon I'm including in this. I'm...honestly pretty much roasting it at 350 degrees and carving out the juicy bits that work for the story. There'll probably be some fanon!Pitch tossed in there as well.

(Because some of Book!Pitch's backstory is...not really something that could be used in a fluffy, happy story like this.)


	30. Chapter 30

Pitch's lair wasn't much different from the last time Jack had come down here from this entrance, but though the differences were subtle, they were still obvious to those who were looking for them.

Shadows, but less deep, not following along after them as they passed. The echoes were natural, the way more straightforward.

And, of course, the light of Sandy and Nightlight glowed around the three of them, dispelling much of the lingering fear Pitch had infused it with, like a good dream or a favorite nightlight would.

Jack was both relieved and more upset when they got to the main part of the lair, where the cages still hung from the cavernous ceiling and the metal globe twinkled with lights.

It was more cavernous than last time, as this time there were no piles of teeth to fill up the space. Jack wasn't sure if it was an improvement – the tooth boxes had been terrible, not in their obvious appearance but in what they represented, but they had muffled sound and filled up space.

Nightlight was looking up at the cages and pressing closer to Jack, close enough Jack felt him shiver.

"You okay?" Jack whispered. "He used those for the baby teeth, but I think the locks are broken now."

Nightlight's shivers ceased as he looked around, still pressed close to Jack.

" _We aren't as far underground as we were before,"_ he said through flickers of light, and Jack was reminded briefly of Tooth's comment that Nightlight had turned into a downright chatterbox compared to how he was before he and Katherine had left. _"Light can reach us here."_ He smiled at Jack, suddenly seeming to be reassured by that fact. _"Last time, there was lava, and fearlings, and a cage made of lead that no light could penetrate. This lair is much better."_

"The more I hear about how Pitch was, the happier I am I didn't know him then," Jack said.

"Oh, go away," Pitch's voice moaned, and all three snapped to attention. "You are _loud_. And whatever light you brought it annoying. Either kill me or leave me to do my dark brooding in peace."

The trio looked at each other before Jack pointed at the globe. "Pitch? You in there?" he called.

A thin grey hand rose languidly from the depths of the globe, waving briefly and tiredly in the space of the oceans before falling again. "Go away, Frost."

Sandy sent a curious stream of dream sand over the globe, and Pitch groaned again. "You had to bring Sanderson along, didn't you."

Sandy floated over to the globe, leaning over one of the metal continents to look inside. Jack joined him on the opposite side of the globe.

Pitch was curled up inside the hollow globe, and he opened one eye to glare up at them sulkily. With how bedraggled and exhausted he looked, it was about as effective as a kitten's glare, but the attempt was still made.

Curious, Nightlight poked his head up beside Jack's.

"Oh. You're back," Pitch said flatly, staring at Nightlight blearily. He then looked back and forth between Jack and Nightlight for a moment before he groaned, long and low, throwing a dramatic arm over his eyes.

"No. No, I can't deal with this," he moaned, sliding out of the globe, so fluidly he was almost more shadow than person, into a pile at the base. He rose slowly, using the globe to pull himself up, and wobbled over to a chaise lounge that they hadn't seen before, half hidden in shadows as it was.

He flung himself dramatically over the lounge, one arm over his head while the other draped over his eyes again and those long, long legs sprawled ungainly half on and half off the lounge.

"Go away," he said, muffled by the arm thrown over his face. "I can't deal with your syrupy sweetness and light today. Ugh, why don't I have any tequila in here? Surely there's an emergency stash somewhere."

Sandy waved for the other two to wait before hovering over Pitch like a particularly smug lamp.

Pitch groaned again and batted at Sandy, his hand swinging wide and missing completely. "I do not need you rubbing your happily ever after in my face, Sanderson. I said no to joining your merry little band before, rubbing it in my face while I'm down isn't going to change my mind."

"Wait, they asked you to join them?" Jack said, floating up to be closer to Sandy, who felt safe in this lair. "And you said no? Also, what the heck it going on here?"

He said this last pointing his staff at Pitch, who rolled his eyes.

"Oh please Frost I can barely move, let alone summon a shadow. Are you really going to beat me while I'm down?"

Jack hesitated for a moment before lowering the staff. "I'm still mad at you for the whole routine in here and hurting the baby teeth. Just putting that out there."

"I really don't care, just putting that out there," Pitch replied.

Nightlight flashed and flickered, looking around so fast the curls that framed his face whipped back and forth.

He began to flicker out a question, pausing when Pitch groaned again.

"When did that one get back?" he demanded petulantly. "If you must talk so loud, do it over there, you're worse than a strobe light."

Mouth hanging open in shock, Nightlight looked over at Sandy and Jack. He gestured broadly, arms flailing as he attempted to get his questions across without the light show.

Sandy crooked a finger at Nightlight, and the two went off a little way – not so far that they couldn't leap to Jack's defense at a moment's notice, but far enough they weren't blinding Pitch.

Jack, meanwhile, landed near Pitch, though out of arm's reach. Pitch ostensibly ignored him for a solid minute.

"What. Do you want. Frost," he finally ground out.

"Oh, lots of things," Jack replied, more easily able to be flippant now that he had backup and Pitch was so obviously not a threat. "You...ah...you doing okay there?"

The arm lifted enough for one eye to glare at Jack. "I was dragged to my lair by my own nightmares after the most fervent believer in the world refused to believe in me. How do you think I'm doing?"

Jack pointedly looked over at the globe. "Unless those are just Guardian believers, I'd say you're recovering pretty well," he said.

Pitch made a show of rolling his eyes, his head and shoulders fluidly following the motion. It brought the glow of Nightlight and Sandy back into his view and he scowled before flopping onto his side, deliberately placing his back to them.

"I am trying to recover from a major defeat here, if you've just come to gloat than you can leave," Pitch said. Jack floated up until he could look down at Pitch, head tilted.

"Nightlight and Katherine haven't said much yet about what you did," he said conversationally, "But it must've been pretty bad if they had to leave for so long. I mean you did shoot Sandy in the back and throw Baby Tooth and break my staff, but still. Must've been pretty bad back then. What happened?"

Pitch glared at him again.

"You're not as scary as you could be when you're acting about as strong and cranky as a kitten," Jack observed. "I mean, it's a good glare, but it kinda lacks a certain something when you can't back it up."

Pitch groaned again.

Nightlight and Sandy drifted back over and Nightlight flashed a furious question at Ptich.

"Again with the light show," Pitch grumbled. "Frost, if you would translate."

Jack looked over at Sandy and Nightlight and shrugged. "Uh, Nightlight wants to know what happened to the...little fears? Sorry, never saw that word before, not sure what you mean," he said when three spirits looked at him oddly.

"Little fears...little fears..." Pitch said, musingly, still not looking directly at Sandy or Nightlight. "There's so many of those...unless..."

Sandy's sand swirled into a shape Jack hadn't seen before, flickering quickly.

"Yes all right, there's no need to yell," Pitch said crossly. "I don't know what happened to the fearlings. Most of them disappeared around the time I became The Boogeyman and lost the last of the 'Nightmare General'. You're so pushy, Sanderson."

Sandy's face turned smug. _"You know you like it,"_ his sand proclaimed.

Pitch's cheeks went darker and he looked away, coughing softly. "It was all very confusing," he added. "I remember little save for the rush of memories coming back as the fearlings fled."

He snorted softly. "I still do not understand what North was thinking, asking _me_ to join your little club. We all know how I despite being tied to children and their belief, and it's not like that rabbit wants me around."

" _You scattered them across the four corners of the universe, it's not like you killed them all or something,"_ Sandy said testily. " _Though we did for the longest time."_

Jack leaned on his staff and whistled lowly. "You guys have been holding out on me. When were you going to tell me about this?"

Sandy involuntarily made a little exclamation point over his head while Nightlight face palmed.

" _Remember that thing I told you about all of them forgetting other spirits don't know the things they do?"_ his light asked. _"Look, a perfect example."_

Jack snorted softly. "Okay, yeah, but we still need to talk."

Pitch, still lying on his chaise, began to smirk. "Yes, what else haven't they told you?" he asked. "Oh, don't try and lecture me Sanderson, you don't have the high ground here," he added when Sandy's sand launched into complicated signs too fast and complex for Jack to translate at that speed.

Sandy huffed, sand puffing out of his ears, and Pitch let out the first genuine chuckle any of them had made since they entered this lair – one that sounded genuinely amused, not spiteful.

Nightlight was watching the byplay with a considering look on his face, leaning on his staff, as though he were looking for the catch and surprised he still hadn't found one.

"Why did you come down here, anyway?" Pitch finally asked.

Jack shrugged. "The bed came back. Had to check on you."

The look Pitch shot Jack then was calculating, shaded with confusion and skepticism. "Well I'm obviously not up to more evil yet, so you can go report back as much," he said. "If that's all, I have some important sulking and healing to get back to."

"You are healing, right?" Jack asked, glancing at Sandy and Nighlight.

"Oh, joy, the concern of the do-gooder," Pitch drawled, his arm flopping back over his eyes. "Save the pity, Frost. The seven of you will be trapping me down here soon enough, I've no doubt. Leave me to do my dark sulking in peace."

When none of them moved, he raised that arm enough to glare at them. "I mean it. Your lights are far too bright. Now if you do, for some misguided reason, want me to recover, you'll leave. Now."

Sandy laid a hand on Jack and Nighlight's arms, tugging for them to leave. Jack pointed with his staff before he turned at Pitch. "I'm coming back to check on you again."

"Forgive me for not jumping for joy. You know how it is," Pitch drawled.

On that note, the three of them left, taking deep breaths of the crisp, fresh air outside of Pitch's lair, not having realized until just then how stuffy Pitch's lair had been, how close and in need of airing out. Then again, this being Pitch, he might have liked it that way.

After a moment they took to the air, the only sound the rustle of the wind in their hair and clothing.

Then Sandy expanded his sand cloud, a silent invitation for Nightlight and Jack to join him on it, one they accepted equally silently.

Almost absently Sandy began to send out dreams, the streams of sand flowing out from the cloud as easily and naturally as breathing.

"So..." Jack said after awhile, sprawled on his stomach and watching the ground below, "I didn't learn much from that, except that Pitch is still around, if weak. I never really had much to do with him before all this anyway so I dunno if that's normal or what. Seemed pretty like how he was acting during Easter 2012, if a bit, yanno, subdoed and less murder-y."

Nightlight flickered and Jack rolled onto his side so he could see the lights and 'hear' what Nightlight said more easily.

" _The last time I saw him was so long ago,"_ the star child said in lights, looking up at the sky. _"He was...if none of that was an act...harder then. Crueler. His lair was deeper underground, where light could never reach. It was filled with fearlings, living shadows and despair that they were. And there was lava, burning so hot it was blue, and a cage of lead that sealed solid I was trapped in. This was different. It was a nightmare, and it was fear, but it wasn't the smothering, cruel, hopeless fear of then."_

" _I've seen it too,"_ Sandy chimed in with his sand designs. _"I deal with him more than the others. It has been slow, but he has changed over time."_

"Huh," Jack said softly, rolling over to dangle his feet over the side of the cloud. Nightlight plopped down next to him, the weight making the cloud dip and tilting them towards each other, and neither felt like moving just yet.

" _Pitch did some terrible things, a very long time ago,"_ Nightlight said, _"after he was tricked into becoming a Nightmare himself. We thought some of it was worse than it was – Bunny thought he was the last because of the war Pitch started, but now we're sure he's not, since we've seen recent signs of them out among the stars but not the Pooka themselves – but he's never been a good actor. And that Pitch today was so different from the Picth-that-was, it's difficult to believe they're the same spirit."_

"Huh," Jack said again, looking down at the houses below, smiling as Sandy's sand disappeared inside windows to the sleeping kids inside. "So maybe he was telling the truth then after all. He said he wanted a family and someone who understood. Of course, he ruined it like five seconds later by reminding me that he wants to be feared, not believed in, but eh."

"Maybe there's a chance after all," he said. Then, smiling softly, he reached out and ran a finger along one of the streams of Dreamsand.

Icy blue magic sparkled alongside the golden glitter, a quick latticework of frost and Fun merging into the dream. Sandy and Jack smiled at each other, soft and gentle, as Nightlight watched the merging of magic with wide, awed eyes.

Jack slipped off the cloud as Sandy began his dance, sending out dreams left and right, to dodge and weave around them, tapping the streams and adding a dash of Fun to each he could reach.

And Nightlight watched, eyes glowing and heart full, wondering if Jack realized just how hard he was flirting with all of them right now.

With their luck, probably not.


	31. Chapter 31

Jack and Sandy continued their little dance until they were over Burgess, having taken the long way around and reached the town as night fell, where Jack paused.

"Hey, I feel the need to go check on Sophie and Jamie," he said, floating closer to the cloud. "I mean, I know Pitch isn't going after anybody, but..."

Sandy nodded. If Pitch had been up to his old tricks, and had still wanted a child to change into a Fearling Prince or Princess, Jamie and Sophie would have been prime targets.

Jack, of course, still didn't know much about the whole Fearling Prince or Princess thing, since it hadn't come up, but he still had a feeling that said to check on his first believers.

Sandy gestured Jack closer, snagging him with a rope of Dreamsand to pull him closer when Jack was too slow, and planted a kiss on Jack's cheek. Jack froze up, a hand drifting to his cheek, as Sandy waved a saucy goodbye and took off.

Nightlight giggled and pushed off the cloud himself as Sandy took off, hovering near Jack. Jack frosted over, blushing harder under the frost as Nightlight giggled, coughing softly.

"Right. Okay. So..." he said, before swooping towards Jamie's house, followed closely by Nightlight.

The two peeked into the bedroom, tapping on the pane gently. Jamie, who was sitting in bed reading to Sophie, jumped. Then he caught sight of who had tapped and broke out into a bright grin, hurrying to open the window.

"Jack! Nightlight!" he said happily, and both spirits beamed. Jack didn't think he would ever get tired of hearing a child say his name, especially not this child, even if technically they were all supposed to keep from being seen. Belief without proof being stronger and all that.

Screw that, Jack hadn't been seen in three hundred years, he wasn't going to turn it down now. And judging by the way Nightlight was glowing, he wasn't either.

Sophie, for her part, was waving wildly from the bed. Sophie was growing up too, but with a big brother who still believed wholeheartedly in the Guardians, she was growing up believing just as solidly.

Jack hugged Jamie tight, silently jubilent that he could and it was accepted, before he floated over to the bed and got a huge hug from Sophie, who practically leapt from the bed to get it. "What's happenin'?" he asked.

"Mom's out for the evening. Me an' Soph are having a slumber party," Jamie said. "Mom figured I was old enough to get us both to bed. I was just doing the reading. Sophie likes to be read to before bed."

"Jack, you read," Sophie demanded, picking up the discarded book and holding it out to Jack.

"What, I'm not good enough anymore?" Jamie teased. "Come on, Jack. Read some?"

Jack took the book, looking it over. Jamie paused and waved his hands as a thought struck him. "I mean, you don't have to, you, uh, you could though, right?"

"I know how to read if that's what you mean," Jack said dryly as he settled onto the end of the bed. "The adults in our village thought it was important we could. The Bible, at least. And I had lots of time to brush up on it. _The Hobbit,_ huh? Good pick."

Nightlight leaned over Jack's shoulder curiously. "Oh, yeah, you guys were gone when this was written. You missed out, lucky you gets to hear it for the first time. Okay, get comfy and let's get to it."

Sophie immediately crawled over the bed to lean against Jack's side. Jamie leaned against the headboard, in a pile of pillows. Nightlight kept leaning against Jack's back, but he landed light as a feather behind Jack while looking over Jack's shoulder.

" _In a hole in the ground there lived a_ _hobbit_ _. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a_ _hobbit_ _-hole, and that means comfort_ ," Jack read.

As Jack read, Nightlight slid down in the bed until, without realizing it, he was cradling Jack against his chest as Jack read aloud, his glow providing light for Jack to read by as Sophie leaned against them both sleepily.

She leaned farther and farther against them until she finally toppled over into Jack's lap, deeply asleep and down for the count.

Jack chuckled down at her, Nightlight's musical laugh soft in his ear, which was when they realized the position they were in. They both blushed, but couldn't pull away without risking waking Sophie.

It was a slow, gentle separation as Jack eased Sophie out of his lap and up to the head of the bed, where she immediately rolled over onto her nearly asleep brother.

Jamie smiled sleepily up at the two himself, yawning hugely and barely managing a wave as the Jack set the book down on the nightstand and he and Nightlight snuck out the window.

Outside, Jack and Nightlight exchanged shy smiles, still blushing faintly but neither actually upset with what had happened, mostly worried that the other would be upset.

After a few minutes of awkward flight they parted, Jack to his den, Nightlight towards Santoff Claussen.

* * *

Jack carefully hung his staff on its hook, made his calm way over to his nest, and fell face first into it. A groping hand found a pillow that he dragged back and shoved his face into before screaming, dropping the frosted pillow off the side of the nest once he was done.

What had he done, that he was being punished like this? A little mischief wasn't bad enough for this!

It had been so innocent, and Sophie had been there, leaning on them, and it had been so innocent but so right, so perfect, feeling Nightlight's arms around him and leaning against him and it had been so comfortable and felt so wonderful and just thinking about now made Jack's heart beat fast (still a strange sensation after so long of being nearly dead) and Nightlight had no idea what he'd just done.

Jack didn't want to ruin everything with these feelings, but it was getting harder and harder to hide them.

* * *

Nightlight flew in Katherine's window and flopped down across her where she lay in bed on her stomach, reading.

"Something wrong?" she asked, only mildly concerned. Nightlight had a tendency to feel things intensely, so it could still be something minor.

Nightlight immediately launched into a light show worthy of one of the theme parks Jack had described to them, hands flailing as he 'spoke'.

He started with the excursion into Pitch's lair and what they had found and continued from there, growing brighter and more emphatic the longer he went, describing the changes to Pitch and his lair and all the things Sandy had told him on through Jack downright flirting with first Sandy and them, him, though admittedly the flirting was something he started, and then the cuddling, he didn't _mean_ to Katherine, really, it just _happened_ , but Jack was so cute? And he didn't protest or even act upset?

And this whole thing was confusing were they almost at the year's end for telling Jack about all of this so they could at least get that part over with before they started worrying about Pitch?

"I should probably check but I'm pretty sure the year is over a little after the party," Katherine said soothingly, book already set aside. She twisted onto her back, running her fingers through Nightlight's hair. "Though I'm a little worried about the party itself. There's a lot that could go wrong with inviting as many spirits as North wants to, but it also sounds like there's a lot of spirits who're going to be insulted if they don't get an invitation. Ugh, politics are the worst. I just want to have a nice party with my Spice and be able to celebrate coming home and having a new husband and he doesn't even know."

" _I'm not sure he's going to take it well,_ " Nightlight said, in small flickers of light. _"I'm not sure we can stand losing him. I love him so much already."_

"Me too," Katherine said wistfully, before grinning mischievously. "Though really, bit forward there. Already cuddling him like that. How can he not figure it out when you're being so obvious?"

Nightlight stuck his tongue out at her.

* * *

Two days later, Jack and Bunny struck at the North Pole.

Jack came rocketing out a hole that opened in the center of the floor, a super soaker strapped to his back, a dozen water balloons in his arms, flinging them around the room with abandon and followed closely by Bunny, whose bandoleer was full of more water balloons.

"War cry!" Jack yelled as the yeti and elves scattered in surprise and the first water balloons, filled with water based dye from the Color River, splattered across the floor.

"For Easter!" Bunny yelled, his balloon catching North full in the chest.

North stood, stunned, as the dye soaked into his shirt, not making much change to the color of the red save darkening it, before the glint of mischief lit up his eyes.

The yeti were scattering with cries of dismay but rallied at North's cry, rushing to find the squirt guns and fill them with water, hindered by the elves who were still running underfoot though now it was from the excitement rather than fright.

North himself grabbed up a pair of pool noodles ("Why does he even have those?" Jack cried from up in the rafters, lobbing a water balloon at a yeti taking aim at him, "I mean, who asks for pool toys at Christmas?") and charged at Bunny with a thunderous war cry that was somewhat ruined by the laughter.

He and Bunny wove back and forth through the yeti, who were focusing on getting Jack down and already wearing a pastel rainbow of colors for their efforts as Jack zipped and dodged among the rafters, laughing hysterically. He wasn't entirely being successful at dodging, already covered in patches of ice from hits.

At least, he was until he called, "Bunny, out of ammo!"

"Head back wi'out me!" Bunny called back, still going hand to hand with North.

Jack shrugged and tossed the yeti a half salute. "Later!" he caroled cheerfully before making his escape out a skylight.

The yeti grumbled about dye staining their fur as North and Bunny slowed their fight, looking at each other in a way the yeti were far too familiar with...and yet were still glad to see, given how long it had been since they had all acted like that.

They just hoped the pair made it somewhere private first.

" 's from th' Color River, it'll wash righ' out," Bunny called to the yeti without taking his eyes off of North.

North held up his beard, which had gotten the splash from Jack's first volley and now was a bright pastel blue, wiggling his eyebrows at Bunny meaningfully.

Bunny rolled his own eyes but grabbed the smirking North by the shoulders, shoving him towards the private wing. "Fine, I'll help ya wash it out, ya big baby."

North's smirk left nothing to the imagination of what was going to happen once he got Bunny behind closed doors, and the yeti made sure to keep clear (and keep the elves away from) that wing until after the two emerged the next day, rumpled and very pleased with themselves.

* * *

The party was officially a month from now.

Jack was, by turns, terrified and excited.

It was a party, held here in the Pole, partly in his honor.

It was a _party,_ held at the _North Pole,_ partly in honor of _Jack Frost._

That was, really, the long and short of it.

There were a lot of spirits out there who, at best, were indifferent to him and, at worst, hated the very fact of his existence. He wasn't cruel enough for a Winter Spirit, he was irresponsible (maybe a bit, but Jack got his job done, he knew how to do his job, wasn't his fault half of his job was playing with kids), he was a troublemaker, a trickster, he didn't behave the way a Proper Winter Spirit should.

Jack Frost wanted to talk, not fight. Jack Frost wanted to play. Jack Frost was too powerful for a spirit of his belief level and age.

Jack Frost ignored spirit hierarchy, was irreverent, made his own rules.

Jack Frost was, suddenly, a Guardian. One of the top spirits, the most powerful spirits, the most well known and respected, who hadn't interacted with anyone in hundreds of years.

Oh yes, Jack could see a hundred ways this could all go wrong, even if North remained optimistic, almost infuriatingly so.

And yet...

Alongside the RSVPs for the party were coming other messages. Like the RSVPs, they were coming in the manner of the spirits sending them. On leaves, on the wind, on formal paper...and they were coming to Jack, care of North.

Jack had recruited Katherine to help him go through them, and Nightlight came along. The other Guardians had drifted in when they had heard what was going on, one of the little things that had changed since Easter of 2012 – seeking out the company of each other, working to keep remembering not to get caught up in work and forget.

"Three hundred years and now they want to play nice?" Jack muttered, peeved. "Look, look at this one, they were nastier than you ever were to me, Cottontail, and you at least had a good reason to be pissed. Or thought you did, at least."

Bunny caught the letter Jack was gesturing with, glancing over it before passing it along to Katherine. She was making notes as they went through the letters, ostensibly about what the letters offered or promised or threatened, but since this was Katherine, also about what Jack or the other Guardians had to say about the authors.

"Shows what we know," Bunny said as he passed the letter. "Always was super polite ta us. Better keep an eye on 'im. Good ta know."

"Well, he's trying to be polite to me now," Jack groused. "Power thing?"

"Power thing," the other Guardians chorused, and went back to going through the letters.

"At least tell me there's some spirits invited to this that don't actively hate me," Jack said as he tossed another letter into what he'd dubbed the "kiss-up" pile.

"Of course," North said, sounding offended.

"Besides the six of you," Jack said, looking up at North laughingly.

North crossed his arms, badly feigning offense. "Have invited trickster friends and Snegurochka," he said. "Also spirits we know are friendly but would not have gotten chance to meet. May have to invite some spirits for diplomacy, but is still our party."

"You did remind the yeti about what happened the last time we had a party?" Tooth asked, wings fluttering anxiously, snapping down against her back as the breeze threatened to undo the piles of messages they had been separating.

"Phil remembers," North laughed, "if reaction to news is clue. Very short with me."

"Considering some of the spirits we've invited, he's got a right to be," Bunny said frankly, "an' that's afore we even get inta Jack's friends."

Jack opened his mouth to defend his friends before shrugging. "Eh, fair." He rocked back onto his heels, obviously wishing he could perch on his staff which was across the room, leaning against Nightlight's, and said, "Did you invite Pitch?"

The other Guardians looked at him as though he'd grown a second head. Bunny opened his mouth and closed it twice before asking, in a tone Jack was impressed by as it was far more level than he'd expected, "No. Why?"

"I...look, I know you've been fighting him for a long time, and I know he used to be a lot worse than he used to be, but...the way he is now, the way he's been ever since I've known about him, maybe he wouldn't do quite such...ah...dramatic? Plans if he had some attention."

The others looked at each other, thinking.

"Nightlight did say the fearlings were gone," Katherine said, obviously thinking out loud. "If they are, maybe..."

"He might be just Pitch, the Boogeyman and King of Nightmares, instead of the Nightmare General?" Tooth finished. "Might really be doing all of this for attention and belief instead of evil?" They all looked at Sandy, Bunny, and Nightlight.

Sandy grinned, a slew of images flashing over his head, and Bunny chuckled. "Pretty strong hope ya got there, mate," he said fondly. "I ain't ready ta forgive fer Easter. Might not ever be. But iffin' ya all want 'im invited, well, I'll be keepin' a close eye on 'im fer sure, but."

"Is going to be event to remember," North proclaimed proudly.


	32. Chapter 32

The party was in full swing and had been for several hours now. North looked over the packed ballroom from the balcony, beaming with pride. All the time it had taken to clean up the store room and convert it back to its original purpose was worth it, it turned out. And the yeti had outdone themselves both in decorating and undoing the elves' attempts at 'help'.

Someone had spiked the punch about two hours ago, and the yeti had already set out a new, un-spiked bowl – though they'd left the original out, too. North had a cup of it in hand, as a matter of fact.

No reason to waste alcohol when it was a guarantee that a trickster would spike the punch within an hour of their arrival. Adding it ahead of time just made sure the punch would be undrinkable after one of the many tricksters got to it. Jack's idea, and another good one at that.

Katherine was right, it had been far, far too long since they'd last had a party. Probably just a bit after she and Nightlight had left, actually, which meant...meant that having that pair back, along with Jack, were the two best things to ever happen to the Guardians, since without them they drifted and settled.

Banishing the gloomy thoughts, North leaned against the rail and let his eyes wander, automatically picking out his Spice and would-be-if-he-only-knew-they-hoped spouse out of the crowd.

Jack had been sticking close to the six of them for the first hour. They couldn't blame him – there were some unfriendly spirits out there, and Jack didn't have the best track record when it came to meeting new spirits.

Not only that, but there was a lot of curiosity and speculation going around. Not just about Jack, though he was the focus of a good deal of it, but about Katherine and Nightlight as well, who for some of the younger spirits seemed to have appeared out of nowhere to suddenly join the Guardians.

It made the Guardians want to keep the three of them close, but after that hour, Jack was restless enough to go out into the party proper, and though they were all keeping an eye on each other, the rest of them did as well.

It was a party. For all the politics, all the disasters that could still go down, they may as well enjoy it.

A huge hand suddenly came down on his shoulder, and North was mellowed enough by the punch to grin at Zeus, the hand's owner, who fell against the railing beside North.

It was fairly obvious Zeus had had more than one cup of the spiked punch, and a tribute to its strength.

It took a lot to get a god, particularly a Greek god, and this Greek god specifically, that buzzed.

Then again, Dionysus was out there on the dance floor, thoroughly sloshed, and that was more impressive.

And, diplomatic party or not, North did remember enough about the Greek gods and the previous party to have at least two yeti watching each of them at all times.

Zeus was keeping his dick in his toga tonight so help them all.

Belief in Zeus and his pantheon was having a bit of a burst at the moment – people still told the stories, of course, which was why they were all still around and as powerful as they were, but it wasn't belief. Lately, though, small pockets had been popping up of people believing in older gods and spirits, not just the Grecian pantheon, and they were having a surge of power (and in many cases, arrogance) over it.

Not all of them were getting big heads over it, though some of them were still incredibly smug for other reasons, North thought, his eyes seeking and finding Cupid in the crowd, who had greeted the seven of them with a cheeky wink. Cupid knew something they didn't and was evading them all and their attempts to find out what he knew.

Build and look wise, North and Zeus were similar, though Zeus' hair and beard were thick with curls, and his smiles tended more towards leers. But apart from the physical similarities of being big, burly men with long white beards, the two were opposites in near every way.

Zeus leaned on the railing, almost lounging on it, propping himself up on one elbow while the other held tight to his drink, bringing North's wandering attention back where it belonged. One could never be too careful around Zeus, who could be touchy at the best of times.

"Hail and well met, Guardian of Wonder," Zeus said, a bit too loud and falsely happy, but it flew over North's head. "Quite the party you've thrown. A new Guardian, eh?"

North beamed. "Ah, yes. Is taking time to settle into new position, needs space, yes? But so good with children! Is going to be amazing as Guardian. Already has changed so much for us, can say he is amazing Guardian already, can only get better!"

Zeus leered. "He's an _amazing_ Guardian already, eh? Changed so much?"

North nodded, still beaming. "Have been doing so much more for the children!" he said cheerfully. "Helping Tooth with tooth collecting and giving us reason to interact with children. Can thank him for party, as well. Reminded us there are other spirits to befriend."

"He's taking his duties seriously then, you could say?" Zeus said, with an eyebrow wiggle. "He's a spirit of mischief, isn't he? I'd think he'd know how to make things...fun."

North laughed heartily. "Oh, he is!" he said joyfully. "So many pranks already! Have not enjoyed self so much in years!"

"So, how do you manage so many of them?" Zeus asked. "It sounds like Jack is a handful all by himself. Keeping things separate must be so difficult."

North looked at him with confusion clouding those famous eyes. "Not sure what you mean? Are all very different. Could not mistake one for another if tried!"

"The new ones are very similar," Zeus said, glancing out over the crowd for a look at them. "Bet they make a pretty pair."

North's smile went soft. "Are very pretty, yes. But more different than first appearance! Am very blessed to have both so dedicated to the children."

"Oh, yes, the children," Zeus said, wincing. He'd had quite a few children of his own, it wasn't a topic many wanted to get into with the god. "Of course, all for the good of the children," he added, recovering. "But there are...benefits, right?"

"So many!" North said, beaming again. They were getting along so well! Who would have guessed he and Zeus would have so much in common? "Would never have thought to have party if not for Jack! So many things changing now."

"So it seems," Zeus said, eyes seeking out Jack in the crowd, watching him for a moment before turning back to North.

Behind them, Sandy, who had been coming to speak to North, paused. Smirking, he grabbed a cup of spiked punch from a passing yeti and settled in to enjoy the entertainment that was a spirit that spoke almost exclusively in innuendos and never coming straight to the point trying to talk to a spirit that wouldn't recognize an innuendo if it bit him.

* * *

Jack walked slowly, a little cautiously, through the party. He wished he had his staff to hold, but he'd left it in North's office. Part of the truce of the party said that all weapons and magic items were to be left elsewhere, and his staff counted as both.

Never mind that it was practically part of his arm, it still counted. He could have argued just that and gotten to bring it in, but he was trying to play willing, so...no staff.

Nightlight had taken one look at his figiting hands and handed over a cup of punch with understanding eyes. He would understand, Jack thought, taking a sip of the nearly solidly iced over punch. Nightlight was hardly ever seen without his staff in hand either, so he would have a bit of an idea what Jack was feeling right now.

And now he was thinking about Nightlight again. Comparing himself to the other spirit and seeing all the ways he came up short, and wondering how long it would be before the other Guardians realized they didn't need their replacement anymore.

Giving himself a mental (and almost physical) shake, Jack forced the dark thoughts away. This was a _party_ and he was the newly appointed Guardian of Fun! (Or Joy, it depended on who you were talking to. Katherine thought it would take time and more stories before the title was settled.) And he knew very damn well by now that it wasn't true. They wanted him and Nightlight, and Nightlight had worried about the same thing. No amount of history was going to change that, nor was a random thought that refused to be shaken, though it got weaker with each passing day. It was their similarities that made everyone worry about the two mischief makers and what they might get up to, it was their similarities that made their relationship strong.

Either way, he wasn't going to let a bit of insecurity (or – he was willing to admit this to himself, if not the others – a really big crush/maybe spiral into something deeper that gave him butterflies in his stomach and made his hands ice over when a certain six spirits smiled at him/thoughts about just how damn pretty six specific spirits were) distract him from or ruin the first actual party he'd been invited to with this many spirits in attendance. Okay, so he'd had to go and have a few breaks from the overwhelming number of spirits here after he'd left the relative safety of the other Guardians, but he was going to have fun!

* * *

Twenty minutes later and Jack had five standing invitations to come visit and ten invitations to other parties throughout the year, ones he'd heard about but hadn't quite gotten around to crashing, ones he still might not go to on the off chance it was a trap – not unless he could get an invite for another Guardian. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be a problem so far, if the reactions to his hints in that direction were anything to go by.

The Guardians had been secluded for so long, the idea of them coming to a party was still a novelty, and felt like a privilege. If Jack had anything to say about it, the other Guardians were going to learn how to enjoy a party so it was still a privilege even after they'd been available for parties for awhile.

There had also been three leading conversations, ones he'd ducked out of as soon as he could. Those spirits had been interested in Jack as a Guardian and what they could get out of an alliance, and Jack wasn't interested in that. They ignored him before and they wanted to use him now. No thanks, not for Jack. Another spirit might have led them on for awhile, bur right now Jack wanted nothing to do with it.

The strangest so far were the conversations with the Erotes (Anteros, god of requited love, Himeros, god of sexual desire and unrequited love, Hedylogos, god of sweet talk and flattery, Hymen, god of marriage, weddings, and the bridal hymn, and Pothos, god of sexual longing, yearning and desire, headed up by Cupid and Aphrodite) and Freya, Freyr, and Frigg.

They all were making odd references, winking and almost giddy. It seemed like they all knew something Jack didn't, but were doing their best to keep it to themselves, something that made them so happy it kept trying to bubble over. Some of them seemed to almost be bursting with the need to tell him whatever it was – Anteros, Hymen, and Frigg in particular – but apart from the odd leading comment were being surprisingly close-mouthed about it.

Hedylogos kept trying to give Jack pointers, which, on the one hand, were a bit appreciated since Jack did want to try and see if the whole thing his heart wanted was possible, but on the other hand, was far too awkward to be helpful.

And also seemed a bit insincere.

The amount of congratulations from the group also seemed a little excessive for what they were celebrating, and when it was combined with the hints there would be more to celebrate Jack found himself eying them suspiciously. Not in a bad way, just in that he would have liked to be in on the joke. He was the Guardian of Fun and/or Joy. He liked a good joke, so long as he was in on it.

At least their gushing over him kept Pan and some of his away, along with the few Winter Spirits who had attended. Not the Snegurochka, they were expected and welcome, if a little giggly and giddy after speaking with Freya and Frigg, along with giving sidelong, calculating glances at the other Guardians.

They claimed they just were worried the Guardians weren't treating their big brother right when he called them on it. Well, that was one worry Jack was able to put to rest easily enough. He was happier than he'd been in centuries.

The other Winter Spirits, though, kept looking at him calculatingly, and he wanted nothing to do with that. Thankfully they were still avoiding Jack, even if they did keep staring. And the gods Jack was talking to were keeping the more lecherous spirits at bay.

Over by the buffet table, Loki was daring Thor to do something ridiculous, which distracted the Norse gods, who ruffled Jack's hair and went to go deal with the pair.

Jack had a good feeling about those three. They got along pretty well with Loki, who Jack was already friends with (it helped that Loki had turned down the 'random murder' part of the Chaotic Neutral Trickster he was in favor of prank wars and ridiculousness with Jack and their friends), to the point where Jack thought that they might just be friends now, now that they had noticed him.

Seemed even old gods tended to be too busy to notice new spirits for a good long while unless something brought them to their attention.

Still, all the attention was getting to be a little much, so he did his best to make excuses and slip away. Cupid gave him a wink and hustled his family away, with reminders that they needed to speak to the other Guardians yet, let's not hog Jack right?

A bit overwhelmed, Jack ducked into an alcove. A little jump and a bit of clambering got him into a niche carved into the top of the alcove. Jack didn't know what it had been carved for, but for now it was good for his purposes (there were other fliers at the party, making the rafters as busy as the ballroom floor and no longer a good place to hide – plus, he didn't have his staff, and flying was difficult without it, though as belief in him grew, so did powers like flying without aid) as he curled up in the tiny space until no one would see him for a bit of a breather. Jack dug a cookie out of the miniature buffet of snacks he'd snuck into his pocket to nibble on, wrapped in a napkin to protect them from the amazing amount of other stuff he kept in there. So long as he stayed still and quiet, no one would bother him here and he could get a minute of peace.

Just as he thought that, a group of spirits crowded into the alcove beneath his little niche, giggling and talking. Jack couldn't see just how many of them there were or who or what they were without revealing himself, and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to do that. Just his luck, though, that when he wanted a moment of peace without actually leaving someone else would have the same idea.

Besides, they were talking – gossiping, really – and he didn't get to hear things like that often. Winter Spirits weren't supposed to want to hear gossip, and most of them were too nasty to want the interaction anyway. So why not stay put a few minutes more before making a discreet escape...or firing off a few snowballs and flying off. Either or.

"...think he knows what he signed up for?" a light voice was asking, giggles just below the surface.

"Considering how everyone keeps avoiding bringing it up, I doubt it. I'd never agree!" another said, sounding just as amused, with just a hint of spite. "Could you imagine it? I mean, I respect what they do, but there are limits."

"I don't think I ever could have that rabbit in my bed, no matter how intelligent he is," another said, disgust in her tone alongside the amusement. "They can try and pretty it up by claiming he's something else, a pook-something, but he still looks and acts like a giant rabbit."

Jack, in his little niche, nearly dropped his treat, mouth falling open in shock before the anger began to grow when he realized they were talking about Bunny.

"Maybe he's endowed enough to make up for all that nasty fur," the first voice was saying as Jack fought back control of the frost that was beginning to creep over the inside of his niche.

How dare they? Even if you weren't attracted to somebody, you weren't supposed to say so, or be so crude about it! And Bunny's fur was amazing! It...it was soft and shiny and warm and it felt amazing and he was beautiful!

And why the hell were they talking about it anyway?

"...so small and round, it's probably so tiny you can't even find it!" one of the spirits was laughing, although they were still quiet, as though they were afraid of being heard.

'...wait, what?' Jack thought, so angry he'd missed the beginning of the new sentence.

"He would look so ridiculous, wouldn't he? Do you think he'd fall asleep halfway though?"

"And you'd never even notice, you'd probably never feel anything!" they laughed, and Jack was done.

The three spirits who'd been badmouthing his friends cried out in surprise at the icy wind that blew through the alcove in Jack's wake as he fled, angry enough that he could have frozen them solid, only refraining because North had trusted him, they all trusted him to uphold the truce, and he was a Guardian now, he had to keep in control.

Jack wove his way through the guests, ducking and bobbing and moving quickly as he dared. For once, he didn't want attention.

He needed, ironically enough, to be left alone and to cool down.

Jack was almost out of the ballroom, just one shadowed niche to pass left, and he stopped short.

"Hello, Frost," Pitch said, taking a sip of his punch from inside the shadows of the curtained niche. "Fancy meeting you here."


	33. Chapter 33

Up on the balcony, North and Zeus were still talking in circles.

"But they all have to have different...needs, don't they?" Zeus asked. "How do you possibly keep them all satisfied?"

North looked at him blankly again.

Behind them, Sandy was silently laughing so hard he was rolling on his back, legs kicking in the air.

"Am...not sure what you mean," North said. "Are all grown spirits, can handle own needs. Do not need me hovering over them."

A moment of anger passed over Zeus' face, quick as a ripple in water, too fast for North to catch. The watching yeti did, and eased themselves that much closer.

Zeus was all smiles a moment later, as if the frustration had never occurred. "Come now, you can tell me. Isn't it difficult? Do they really all know about each other?"

North continued to stare at him blankly, though some of the yeti were now holding back their own snickers. Sandy was dying, still silent, in the background. This was more blatant than Zeus ever got, he must be so much more frustrated than Sandy had realized.

North gestured blankly down towards the dance floor, where Tooth and Bunny were involved in some sort of intense dance routine, a surprise to everyone who had only met Bunny in work mode, which was much crankier and more intimidating than relaxed Bunny.

Katherine was speaking to a group of spirits in one corner of the ballroom while Nightlight hovered over Loki, Thor, and a small group of Norse spirits and Jack spoke to someone they couldn't quite make out, partially hidden as they both were by shadow.

"Would be difficult if they did not," North said.

Zeus looked about ready to scream, and out of North's line of sight, at least one yeti face palmed.

* * *

"Surprised you came," Jack said, wishing again he had his staff to fiddle with.

Pitch waved an airy hand, careful not to leave the shadows. "Oh, you know how it is. The spirits you've been fighting for centuries defeat you utterly, you want a little peace and quiet to lick your wounds, and then they invite you to a party, and you know they're too high-minded for it to be so they could brag about defeating you. Mostly, at least. How could I resist?"

Jack paused, tilting his head. "Sounds pretty easy to resist to me. Did that for a long time."

Pitch copied Jack's gesture and Jack, still on edge from overhearing that previous conversation, wasn't guarding his mouth as he might have in Pitch's presence. "Well, I mean, I've gotten summoned to Winter Court gatherings and ignored them."

Pitch raised what would have been an eyebrow, if he'd had them. "And here I'd heard no Winter Spirit could resist the call of the Court," he said mildly enough. "No wonder the few Winter Spirits that got invites keep glaring at you. Except for the Snegurochka, but then again, they don't get called to the Court either. You surprise me, Frost."

"Heh, yeah, I do that to people," Jack chuckled. "You must be feeling better. Planning on stabbing anyone in the back anytime soon?" he asked, with his best innocent face in place.

Pitch paused for a moment, eying Jack, before shrugging. "Wondered when that would come up. Funny, I thought it would be the rabbit to bring it up first. No, Frost, amazingly enough I do know how to behave at a party. Do you?"

"Hey, I didn't freeze anyone yet even if they really deserved it," Jack said back, immediately defensive.

Those bright gold eyes went slitted, looking Jack over. "Seems you're going to have stories to tell from tonight," Pitch drawled. "What could anyone possibly do at a party that is so offensive the Guardian of Fun himself would risk ruining it?" The title was faintly mocking, and Jack decided right then that was the one he was going with, at least whenever Pitch was around. 'Joy' might have sounded like it fit in better with the other Guardians, but if 'Fun' made other spirits that irritated, it was worth choosing it for that mischief alone. Or he'd keep doing like he was and changing it around with his mood. Whatever.

"Eh, you'd probably approve," Jack said, trying to brush it off. "Just a couple of spirits saying...saying some nasty things. Want me to point you in their direction so you can all complain about how nasty Bunny's fur is or how small and round Sandy is together?"

The last came out angrier than Jack had meant it too, and again Pitch did the odd facial maneuver that substituted for raising his eyebrows.

"Well, that was classless, and that comes from someone who literally shot Sanderson in the back," Pitch said.

"Yeah, it was," Jack agreed, giving Pitch a look. "You know, you're almost decent to talk to when you're not trying to, you know, kill everyone I care about and condemn kids to childhoods of nothing but fear."

Pitch waved it away. "Oh, they would have recovered sooner or later. Fear on that scale is unsustainable. We all know it. But oh, it was so sweet that short time I had it." He took a deep breath, eyes half shut.

"Do you need a moment alone?" Jack asked, beginning to really enjoy this banter. Oh, he was still angry, but it was duller now that someone else was angry about it too and he had a bit of play.

Those golden eyes turned back to him in a glare, and Jack smirked. Pitch was getting scary again as he recovered, but after seeing his dramatics, it was harder for Jack to be scared of him. Not here, in the golden glow of the North Pole, surrounded by other spirits, no matter how many may have disliked him personally. Not with the other Guardians so near, and his friends, and new friends.

"Shouldn't you be bothering the other Guardians?" Pitch asked sourly. "Aren't they trying to show off their latest conquest? It's been awhile since they had someone new. You can't possibly have tried everything they have to offer yet."

Jack shrugged, deliberately careless, to hide the fact that Pitch had hit a spot that was still a little sore. "We have a lot of time," he said.

"Hm, yes, tied to those six until the children stop believing," Pitch said. "There are worse fates for some, I suppose, despite what those spirits were saying. My issue with them is philosophical, not physical, after all."

Jack tilted his head to the side. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

Pitch sighed. "Seriously, Frost, sometimes I start to believe there's quite a few things about being a Guardian that you don't know."

"Uh...protect the children?" Jack volunteered slowly, suddenly wishing again for his staff to play with and lean on. "Watch over them? Keep them safe? You know, working with the other Guardians to make it happen? 'Cuz we're a team. And friends. What else is there to being a Guardian beyond that? "

Pitch spat out the draft of punch he'd been drinking in an impressive fountain. "You don't know?" he sputtered out, scrubbing the punch off his face. Jack frowned down at the puddle of punch, elves already appearing eagerly out of the woodwork to clean it up. Pitch was still watching him when Jack looked back up, still in shock. "You don't. You really don't know."

"Don't know what?" Jack asked, fast on the way to annoyance. "Seriously, what does everyone here know that I don't?"

"Oh, I'm not going to be the one telling you," Pitch said, now grinning far too widely for comfort. "And ruin all the fun? Why, Jack, really. Ruining someone's fun? Not proper behavior for the Guardian of Fun."

Jack crossed his arms and glared. "You're being a dick."

Pitch's smile grew a fraction, impossible as it seemed. "Of course I am, Frost. It's too perfect. You really have no idea what all is involved in being a Guardian beyond the obvious?"

"I know you turned it down," Jack said sullenly. "Did the Man in the Moon really choose you? They made it sound like you didn't have a choice if he did."

Pitch waved a dismissive hand. "North asked, not that ridiculous moon. And I had my reasons. Besides, there's always a choice. But how do you not know?"

"Because nobody ever tells or told me anything," Jack snapped, quieting as he glanced around for anyone listening in. "Three hundred years and no one ever explained a single thing, okay? Everyone just acts like I'm supposed to know it by some kind of spiritual osmosis."

Pitch blinked at him a few times before rolling his eyes. "Frost, don't ruin my enjoyment of this. I know those Guardians are bad at telling other spirits things, but at least tell me you know about the Winter Court. You avoided it for a reason, didn't you?"

"Because every Winter spirit I met was a total dick?" Jack said slowly. "Like General Winter?"

Pitch's mouth curved in a smug smile. "Ah, yes, the former General. How is Krampus doing, by the way? Surprised North hasn't tried to do the same to me."

Jack shrugged, frowning. "You're changing the subject," he said. "And distracting me from the good mad I had going on. No, I don't know what North wants to do about Krampus, and I don't know whatever it is about the Guardians that I'm apparently supposed to know, I don't know about the Winter Court except that even I wasn't hard up enough for friends to go there and I was alone for three hundred years so I was pretty desperate, and I wish people would stop dancing around it."

Pitch grinned again, sincerely amused with an edge of maliciousness to it. "Oh, no, Frost, you're not learning it from me. This is the most amusement I've gotten in...well, almost since the Dark Ages. I'm not giving it up that easily. As for the Winter Court, I'm giving you this one piece of advice for free. Stay away from them. The Winter Court is crueler than you could know. Now. Point out to me which spirits broke the rules of hospitality to speak poorly about our hosts, won't you? It seems someone has to remind them of party manners, and I'm feeling just spiteful enough to do it."

Jack hesitated, and Pitch waved a careless hand. "Don't be so worried, I'm not going to do anything to get kicked out. Not with this entertainment on hand."

After a second, Jack gestured. Either Pitch was going to do something over the top and get kicked out or those spirits would think twice about it, but it was still better than letting his trickster friends know about how upset he was. They could get out of hand between two breaths.

Pitch inclined his head and swept out onto the ballroom floor. Even in his recently defeated state, the crowds parted before him as Jack watched him go.

Seemed, no matter how much of a drama king he could be, how little Jack had heard of him before all of this, Pitch still commanded a good deal of fear and respect from the other spirits.

It almost made Jack want to follow and watch the show.

Almost.

Better not to let anyone know he was involved, so instead, he slipped out of the ballroom for that brief break he still needed.

* * *

"But isn't the fact that everyone such different sizes a bit of a problem?" Zeus probed. "Especially compared to you, most of them are so...small. Some things must be so...difficult with them being so much smaller than you."

Behind them, Sandy nearly spat out his drink, small hands waving and sand catching the dropped glass before it could spill. His own mistake for trying to take a drink, really.

North beamed. Finally, something he could answer! "Makes hugs so much better!" he said happily. "Can fit so many in my arms at once! And can fit all of us in sleigh at once. Makes it much easier for travel. Ha!" he boomed out a laugh, heads turning for a moment to look before returning to their own conversations. "Would be difficult if all were my size! Would make jobs much harder, too!"

The flat, unamused look Zeus sent North was enough to send Sandy and the yeti off again.

* * *

Jack slipped into North's office, one of the many he had discovered scattered throughout the Pole, each one with its own major purpose, though of course they all overlapped a bit by now.

He could still hear the party from here, but it was a good deal quieter, more private, and, most importantly, no non-Guardian spirits were going to try and come in here.

And if they did, Jack could ice them with a clear conscience.

His staff was here, in a locked closet that only a Guardian could open, and Jack took a certain pleasure in placing his hand on the lock and watching it open for him. Take that, everyone out there who thought he wasn't Guardian material, he thought, picking up his staff. The original Guardians claim I'm one of them, and they're the ones who choose. Not even Manny, if North could offer it to Pitch without Manny's say-so or knowledge.

Jack stood in front of the closet, his hands running over the familiar grooves of his staff as he stood, not thinking of much at all, simply letting the silence and the familiar motions soothe.

Feeling better already, Jack put his staff back in the closet, watching the lock close firmly. He should probably get back to the party. It was at least partially for him, so he should be there.

But at the moment, the words of those spiteful spirits echoing in his head and all the stares still weighed him down, and he wasn't ready.

With a groan, he flopped into North's chair and immediately began to sputter as North's coat, laid across the back, fell on top of him.

It took more sputtering and flailing before Jack's head popped out from under the coat. Jack paused to catch his breath, looking down at the coat still draped over him like a blanket.

It was the one with white trim – the black trimmed one was for battle or Pitch, as Jack had found out, and the white one for the rest of the time – and it was thick and warm and could cover Jack three or four times over.

Giving in to the sudden impulse, Jack slid to the floor with the coat and wrapped himself up in it. It smelled like North, like pine and cinnamon and wood shavings and ice and Christmas and North's oven-like body heat.

It was almost too warm, the thick velvet and fur heavy, but it was a good too warm.

Jack wasn't sure how long he was under the coat when he heard the door open and close, quietly as if whoever entered didn't want attention but firmly as if they had every right to be in the room.

He peeked out from under the coat just as Katherine began to pick it up, and they both started before laughing at themselves.

"Mind if I join you under there?" Katherine asked. "I need a little retreat myself."

"Hmmm, why I do believe North's coat is big enough for both of us," Jack replied, rolling onto his back. "Come on in here."

Katherine giggled and slid under the coat, mindful of her dress, a fancier one than she usually wore that the yeti had made for her for the party.

"We used to do this a lot," she said softly, bundled up in fur and velvet and cuddled close to Jack. "When we were still new to being...being a team, being together. When North first got it. When he'd had it just long enough to smell like him. We all don't fit at once, not quite, but still."

Jack hummed softly, too content right now to wonder why Katherine hesitated like that.

"Guess we should head back to the party," he said.

"Just a few more minutes," Katherine said.

Jack hummed again. "Good argument. Can't argue with that. Nope," he said sleepily.


	34. Chapter 34

Up on the balcony, North and Zeus' conversation was still going in circles, and Zeus was beginning to get visibly impatient with the whole thing.

Sandy, who had been enjoying the show, was sobering up and starting to watch more cautiously, as were the yeti who had been set to watch Zeus.

An angry Zeus was a very different kind of danger to a flirty Zeus, though both were dangerous in their own ways.

"Oh for...do I have to lay it out bluntly?" Zeus snapped. "You've been answering every question as if you've missed what I was actually asking! Did you think I meant any of that at face value?"

"You didn't?" North asked, still at sea. "Thought we were having good conversation."

Zeus stared at North for nearly a full tense, silent minute as the yeti shuffled, wondering if they would have to go toe to toe with a god, before he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Every time! Every time, I forget how straightforward you are!" Zeus cackled, and behind them, Sandy and the yeti relaxed. Disaster averted – for the moment.

Zeus calmed, a new light in his eyes and smirk on his face. "So, let's get to the point. How do you keep them from finding out you're all screwing each other?"

* * *

Pitch stalked his way back across the ballroom floor, enjoying how the crowds parted before him. Defeated or not, at least some spirits still showed some respect. Yes, there were still the upstarts who were looking at him and gossiping, but he would deal with them later.

Frost should owe him for frightening those little upstarts the way he did, but, well. The Guardians were his to annoy and harass.

Not that he was willing to enter into an alliance with them. The nerve of North, to expect _Pitch Black_ to want to join the Guardians and their little marriage! Just because the last of Kozmotis was taken by the departure of the fearlings, leaving him the Nightmare King but no longer the shell of the Golden General, didn't mean he was ready to join their little fanclub.

He really did owe North for that one yet. This past battle had been something entirely separate, though taunting North had been quite the show.

Then again, sitting back and watching the train wreck that was watching Jack Frost realize about the marriage was going to be so entertaining...

Pitch stopped short.

The crowd, parting before him, revealed Nightlight, weaponless, standing in front of Pitch.

On the ground like this, it was easy to see the height difference between the two. Of all the spirits here, only Pitch and Sandy were stronger rivals, and that was an odd concoction of attraction and competition and hate and desire blended together into a very strange stew that was going to take some time to sort through.

It felt as though the whole room were holding its breath. Pitch could feel the fear and worry radiating from the surrounding spirits, but he had not, for once, been lying when he said to Frost that he knew how to behave at a party.

So he inclined his head to Nightlight, saying his name shortly.

Nightlight returned the gesture, with the flicker of lights Pitch had learned was his name – amazingly enough, this time, without the overtones of insult or anger that usually came along with that light show.

Then Nightlight tilted his head, a gesture so like Frost's it almost made Pitch laugh. He gave another set of flickers, and around them rose the whispers like a tide as spirits tried to understand what Nightlight was saying.

Of course they wouldn't understand, the fools. Nightlight spoke now in the language of the Stars, and it was almost a miracle Pitch could still understand him, one of the few holdovers from who he was before.

" _I want to talk with you. Just talk. Will you? Agree to just talk? A bit away from the crowd?"_

Pitch smiled, the expression curling over his face, and heard more spirits gasp and mutter. "Why not? Seems more entertaining than lurking in the shadows."

He followed after Nightlight, enjoying the whispers they left behind, the disbelief that it was really him, that he was showing his face here, and refused to show his irritation with the wondering about how he could stand to be here, weak as he was.

He could deal with them later, when his return to power was more force and less show.

Nightlight led Pitch to an alcove, and Pitch was amused to note the yeti that took up guard positions just outside. Likely to both keep the conversation private and to take care of Pitch if he started anything, and it was nice to know they still feared him like that even in his currently weakened state.

Once they were alone, Nightlight looked Pitch up and down again, looking for the differences between the last time they had faced off and now as Pitch did the same. Last time didn't count, last time had been when Pitch had been at his weakest – though the lack of surprise at Pitch's theatrics from both Jack and Sandy did count. That lack of surprise meant that they both expected dramatics from Pitch, and though Pitch had always been dramatic, this had been an entirely different type of drama, one Nightlight could almost appreciate.

He looked...different, Nightlight thought. No armor, for one, just the long robe, open down the front, and the clothing made of shadows. Effective for the Boogeyman, for the Nightmare King, but nothing like what he had worn six hundred years ago.

And it would probably offend Pitch to hear, but his face was...gentler, almost. It looked as though he had been telling the truth about the last of the fearlings leaving him, about no longer being the spirit he had been then but now being the Boogeyman alone.

So maybe...maybe, just maybe, Sandy and Jack were right.

Across from Nightlight, Pitch was making a similar review. Nightlight looked, to him, much the same as he had six hundred years ago. Though the light the star boy gave off was still just as bright, it was no longer faintly painful, as it had once been. It wasn't Pitch's favorite thing, but it didn't hurt, so there was that.

Finally, after what seemed an unnecessarily long and awkward pause, Nightlight floated up to be on eye level with Pitch – and, if necessary, he was faster and more agile this way than on the ground.

 _Jack was hoping we'd invite you and you'd show,_ Nightlight said in the language of the stars still, keeping the conversation private. Besides, using his voice would be more than he'd talked in his entire life. _I don't think any of us thought you would._

"So sorry to disappoint," Pitch drawled.

Nightlight tilted his head again and smiled, sharp and quick. _So, what were you planning for tonight? Do I get to watch the yeti throw you out or are you going to prove Jack right?_

"Hmm, you do give me the toughest choices," Pitch mused. "On the one hand, proving Frost wrong. On the other, proving you wrong." He tapped a finger on his chin, looking into the distance as he pondered, his punch cup dangling from slender fingers. "Decisions, decisions."

He grinned suddenly, sharper and quicker than Nightlight's could ever be. "You may want to warn North about the spirits he invites to these things. Oh, not me. The group of spirits making disparaging comments about the sex lives of your, what utterly detestably cute word did Katherine coin for it? Spice? Yes, about your Spice. Oh, don't look like that, I already put the fear of me in them. They did upset Jack quite a bit, though. Odd, he had no idea why they would be thinking such things about the Guardians. I wonder why?"

Nightlight went pale, a feat in someone already so colorless. _You didn't..._

Pitch waved a careless hand before Nightlight could finish. "Oh, please, watching Frost being utterly clueless is far too much fun to ruin right away. And I don't have enough punch to deal with the fallout when he finds out. Though I do wonder what North was thinking when he made _me_ the offer..."

Nightlight's grin was suddenly much naughtier than it had any right to be. _That if you were getting laid on the regular, you wouldn't feel the need to be so dramatic for some attention?_

Pitch's cheeks went dark and he glared at the unrepentant Nightlight. "When are you going back to space?" he demanded.

Nightlight's grin grew a fraction and he shook his head. Pitch rolled his eyes and turned to leave, pausing.

"You may want to keep an eye on Frost," he said over his shoulder. "If what he said is true, he's been ignoring the Winter Court ever since he first rose from his little pond. He's been ignoring them, and they aren't going to put up with that for much longer. They're bad news, and this is the King of Nightmares saying that. The rabbit'll understand what that means. There's my good deed for the century."

With that, he swept out of the alcove, and Nightlight waited only a moment before darting out and heading for the other Guardians, hovering above the dance floor and looking for Bunny and North, curious and more than a little worried.

If Pitch didn't like the Winter Court, something very bad had to be happening.

* * *

Up on the balcony, Sandy and the yeti were holding their breath, waiting to see how North would react to that final, blunt question as North did a surprisingly good impression of a guppy.

Down below, Katherine and Jack had reentered the ballroom, sticking close and joining the ebb and flow of conversation. Tooth had been drawn into conversation with a few other fairy queens, and Bunny with some dryads and a couple of the bolder Snegurochka.

Nightlight landed, gentle as thistledown, on the railing, stalling the conversation before North had to try and find an answer to that question. Zeus turned his leer on him, and Nightlight waved, a bit uncomfortably, before turning to North.

The flickering of his light was clear as speech to the Guardians and yeti, though it left Zeus as lost as North had been.

 _I talked to Pitch. He said Jack's been ignoring the Winter Court, and they won't stand for it for much longer. He said it was bad, and that Bunny would understand. What's he talking about?_

Both North and Sandy sucked in a breath as the yeti stiffened. Zeus looked at the suddenly tense spirits surrounding him and said quickly, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it, I've been up here the whole time!"

"The Winter Court is not here, are they?" North asked, ignoring the outburst. Zeus blinked as the yeti spoke in quick undertones.

"Those two spirits down there are members," he volunteered, pointing at a pair of spirits down below. Anything to get the attention away from him. "Only just. They want Winter Spirits, though the rumor mill says they tried to get Loki in for all of ten minutes. Something about how he's been turning more towards Chaotic Good ever since Frost got to him rather than Chaotic Neutral, whatever all that means."

"Do not understand either, but Good is better than Neutral, da?" North said. "And Loki has been much more tolerable last two hundred years, rumors say, da? Have not been paying the attention we should."

 _Does he understand Star?_ Nightlight asked. _I wanted to talk to him anyway. He's Jack's friend._

"Will excuse, I hope?" North said to Zeus. "Think I must speak to Bunny."

"Oh, we can continue this later, of course the other Guardians need you," Zeus said, mind already working away at the next time he got North or another Guardian alone.

Behind them, Sandy took off, surprisingly unobtrusive for a spirit made of golden light and sand. He needed to speak to Pitch, too, and maybe Pitch would be more forthcoming with him.

After all, the Nightmare King owed him one.


	35. Chapter 35

Down on the dance floor, Nightlight floated towards where he had last seen Loki, finally dragged away from the buffet table and in an animated huddle with his brother, Freya, Frigga, and the Erotes.

Loki was smirking, looking smugly pleased with himself, while the spirits around him looked varying levels of fond and exasperated, so it was pretty easy to guess he'd just been up to something.

Thor was the first to notice Nightlight's approach, greeting him with open arms and a loud welcome.

He reminded Nightlight a little of a younger North, really. Blonder and more Nordic and more prone to sparking when he was excited, but North never the less. Enthusiastic, loud, and cheerful.

Not that Nightlight had really gotten to know any of them yet. Most of them had been busy when he and Katherine had set off on their journey of healing, and they hadn't been paying attention anyway. Pitch had been focusing on the newly formed Guardians, and most spirits that had gotten involved at the time had only come in for the final fighting, when Nightlight was too busy to form relationships, so he was left with passing impressions and the few quick meetings they'd snatched between fights.

No one would have believed that right now, as Thor grabbed Nightlight up into a rib cracking hug reminiscent of North's. Nightlight's ribs weren't given a chance to recover, as Cupid, Freya, and Frigga came in for their hugs once he was released.

The rest stood back, laughing and unhelpful, when Nightlight was finally put down and staggered before he could regain his balance, laughing and ruffled.

Aphoridite took a careful look around, noting where Jack was – on the other side of the ballroom, far enough away and distracted enough he would not overhear their conversation – and bent low to Nightlight.

"When are you going to tell him?" she whispered. "Keeping it secret much longer won't help your cause, I suspect. And despite what Jack thinks, there's quite a few of us here who wish to see him happy."

Nightlight glanced around as well, keeping his lights dim when he replied, the Star equivalent to a whisper. _Katherine and I wanted to before the party, but there was never a proper time. The plan now is for after the party. But it's going to be so much worse when he realizes how many spirits knew when he didn't._

Loki and Cupid both snorted, eying each other warily before Cupid spoke, surprisingly softly. "Doesn't help to build trust, that. No marriage without trust."

Nightlight nodded solemnly. _But, much as I'd like some advice, that's not why I came over, actually,_ he said. _Have any of you heard of the Winter Court?_

Eyes turned to Loki, who rolled his own.

"Once. I talked to them once," he said.

 _I just heard a rumor that they've been trying to approach Jack for a long time now,_ Nightlight said. _And that they're getting impatient with him ignoring them._

The looks that passed across Loki's face were too quick for Nightlight to interpret, save for the final expression of dismay.

"No one ever tells Jack anything, do they," he grumbled. "So he doesn't have a clue. It's almost worth not saying anything just for the chaos."

"Brother," Thor rumbled, disapproval and disappointment lacing the single word.

"The chaos would be to the Winter Court and they'd deserve it," Loki shot back. He looked back at Nightlight and sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I'll tell you what I know, but only because Jack's my friend and a fellow trickster, okay? And the Winter Court doesn't have patience for Jack's style of tricks."

Thor slapped Loki's shoulder, making the smaller god stumble, but Nightlight saw the tiny grin on Loki's face before it was wiped away, quick enough for the surrounding gods to miss. Thor slung his arm around Loki's shoulders then, looking at Nightlight and beaming.

 _It's appreciated,_ Nightlight said instead. _Tricksters have to stick together._

Loki looked Nightlight over at that statement, considering. "Okay, look, sum it up – Winter Court is old fae. Really, really old. There are a lot of fae courts around the world, there's probably even another Court that considers itself winter, but only one Winter Court. The Snow Queen is in charge there. Not the new one that's gentler and uses the legend to try and help people, the one who made the legend. You know it right? Well, that Katherine of yours should be able to figure it out pretty quick. Anyway, Snow Queen has this idea that every spirit who's connected to winter should be part of her court and obey her. Those who have any kind of power at least. I was too much trouble and not Winter enough, otherwise there would've been a problem. Actually, thinking about it, I take it back. You tell Jack to avoid them at all costs."

"I knew you cared!" Thor crowed.

Loki winced. "Please don't. The main thing is, Winter Court is bad news. General Winter was pretty highly ranked in there, and they still do Wild Hunts and gather yuki onna and windegos to them. They're welcomed there. That give you a better picture?"

All eyes flickered over to Jack, who was doing an impromptu rap battle with a group of dryads and Snegurochka.

"They'd eat him alive," Loki said softly. "Do their damnedest to put out that light. He's Winter, now, you know? As in, the main spirit of it? Connect to it the way Cottontail is to Spring? And he's gentle, despite everything."

He glared at his brother, though even Nightlight could see that this time, there was no venom behind it. "Don't get any ideas."

"Your tricks have been much nicer since Jack came about," Thor said anyway. "Ha! Remember the time you changed into a snake so I would pick you up? Then you changed back to yourself, yelled and stabbed me!"

Thor laughed while Loki smirked and Nightlight looked between them awkwardly. Around them, Freya and Frigga were shaking their heads while the Erotes reacted with little surprise.

"Ah, good times," Thor said. "But do not do that so much now. Had wondered why."

Loki waved it off. "Time isn't right for those pranks anymore. Surely you've noticed how things have changed? Jack's tricks are right for now. They're more fun, at that." He pointed at Nightlight. "Doesn't change anything. Winter Court hates fun. They almost certainly want Jack's power, now that he's really coming into it. They're gonna be pissed he's ignored them this long. Jack is Fun. You're smart, you can figure it out."

He shrugged. "Maybe you'll get lucky. Jack's almost as bad as me when he's irritated, maybe they'll leave him alone once they figure that out."

Nightlight giggled. _Like the merciless prank war he did to the Guardians?_ He asked. He shrugged at the confused looks tossed his way. _He didn't tell you yet? Maybe he doesn't want it talked about...it's nothing really, just...you know how tricksters get when they don't think you actually want them around._

Thor laughed again, quieter this time. "Loki has done same. Hope Jack's wasn't as vicious as Loki can be."

"I did not," Loki grumbled.

There was a grumble from the Eratos, who Nightlight had forgotten were still surrounding them and listening to the conversation as best they could, and suddenly Coyote and Raven were flanking Nightlight.

Raven, who had chosen for the party to appear as a young Native American man with raven feathers mixed into his hair, spoke. "So sorry to interrupt, but we've got a couple possible situations forming. Usually we'd take care of it ourselves, just us tricksters, but as it's a party to get Jack some of that attention he craves..."

Nightlight stiffened, immediately on high alert.

Coyote, who was in his anthropomorphic coyote form, gestured toward one corner of the great room. "Have a group over there chewing over the fact that Jack was chosen rather than one of them like scavengers chewing over old bones," he said, "And getting themselves about as worked up as those same scavengers who see a fresh kill and can't touch it. There are a pair of kitsune trying to distract them but not making much headway. Lightening a mood is difficult when one refuses to let go of grievances, no matter how imaginary. Puck's on his way to help the kitsune, so someone's going to have to control that situation soon."

"And in the other corner, a group of spirits angry that he hadn't been chosen before this and that he still doesn't know all there is to being a Guardian," Raven continued. "Anansi is distracting them, and is very put out about it. He wanted to meet the Guardian of Imagination and Storytelling and is tied up defending Jack's honor along with yours. He's a spirit of storytelling as well as a trickster, you know."

"And our last group in the final corner, a set who won't stop imagining what any of you would be like in bed, including our Jack," Coyote took the thread back. "Highly inappropriate. Normally we'd let the chips fall as they would, but, it's Jack. He has more friends than he realizes."

 _Jack heard a group like that last already, though they were being very crude about how unattractive they found us,_ Nightlight said, Loki only slightly begrudging about translating. _Pitch put the fear of himself into them. I know,_ he added when the tricksters and Erotes and gods expressed noises of surprise at that, _No idea why. He also told Jack and I about the Winter Court._

"The Erotes and I can deal with the third set," Cupid offered. "Jack's going to figure out something's up pretty soon like this."

"My brother and I will deal with the second group," Thor offered, ignoring his brother's "Thor, no."

Thor began to drag Loki off towards the indicated corner. Frigga and Freya rolled their eyes and followed. Frigga tossed back over her shoulder, "I'll make sure my boys don't cause more trouble. I believe Freyr is around here, perhaps you could get him to speak with some of them, or with Jack. They should get along, Freyr is such a sweet boy he gets along with most everyone."

"Considering how rock solid my brother's marriage with Gerd is, he'd probably have some good advice," Freya tossed over her shoulder. "Raven, perhaps you could go rein in Puck? Takes a trickster to understand a trickster."

"You might want to let another Guardian know what's going on," Coyote said to Nightlight, who was watching all this happen in bemusement. He'd had no idea anyone else cared so much for Jack, and he had a bad feeling Jack didn't either. Nightlight nodded quickly to Coyote's suggestion, rushing off to his amusement, mind abuzz.

Puck was here. He hadn't realized they had invited Puck. First he was going to make sure the other Guardians knew tensions were rising, then he was finding Robin Goodfellow.

Puck was one of the oldest fae. Loki might have been approached by the Winter Court, but Puck would have known about them when they formed. Puck would know more than the rest of them about any fae court.

Ugh. Spirit politics. Why couldn't the party just be fun?

* * *

It was a thought echoed by Bunny when Nightlight found him and Tooth. He hadn't known about any of it, from Winter Court to the three brewing batches of discontent.

"Can't any spirit jus' have fun fer one night? One? Wi'out the politicking?" he grumbled.

"Jack is," Tooth pointed out. "Let's keep it that way. We'll tell him about them as soon as the party's over."

 _Better to tell him to avoid them now,_ Nightlight said. _We're keeping too much from him as it is. I'll do it, I wanted to talk to Puck too._

"Good luck wi' tha'," Bunny grumbled. "Tha' one kin be more difficult th' more fae they feel. Never know whatcher gonna get."

"I'll go let the others know what's going on, Bunny, you go find a group, and keep your temper," Tooth said, giving Bunny a quick kiss to the cheek to soften the command. "Nightlight, you find Puck. Let's hope Raven's cooled things down, or there's going to be a prank war started tonight that could make Jack's look tame. He still liked us, after all. I've heard an angry Puck can be pretty vicious."

 _Whichever I find first,_ Nightlight said. He flitted off, and Bunny followed, much more sedately.

They parted inside the ballroom. Bunny headed for the group with Thor in it, the blond head that towered over the surrounding spirits easy to spot in the crowd. Nightlight took to the air, looking around for Jack and Puck.

Puck they didn't know yet, which was going to make finding them more difficult, so instead he looked for groups. There was the one with Thor and Loki and a few other gods talking earnestly with a group of spirits, being joined by Bunny, in a corner just as Raven had said.

A second group was being regaled by a spider the size of an average human, who Nightlight guessed to be Anansi. Nightlight really hoped that one could shapeshift – he wanted to be friends for Jack's sake if nothing else, but a lot of nightmares made themselves look like spiders, ones with more legs and eyes than a natural spider but in the same vein nevertheless, and seeing them now put Nightlight on edge.

Jack had been with a group of Snegurochka and other friendly spirits, joking and goofing around, but Nightlight didn't see him now.

Then he spotted Jack, arguing with a small group of spirits, and his heart sank.

Jack was snapping back at them as Nightlight began to stoop, aiming to land near the group. Frost was beginning to coat the walls next to them, a sign of Jack's rising temper, though the words were still quiet.

Nightlight couldn't hear any of the argument as he rushed towards them, silently cursing the size of the ballroom.

Then Jack went still, a rush of cold air whipping around the ballroom.

Nightlight landed behind Jack just in time to hear him speak. "What are you saying?" he said, sounding bewildered, still furious and hurt alongside the confusion.

He turned at the sound of Nightlight's landing, eyes wide and hurt, anger sparking alongside the hurt.

"Nightlight, it almost sounds like...all this means...Nightlight...does being a Guardian mean...are we all...married?"

* * *

A/N: Please know I haven't seen any of the movies with Loki and Thor in them, so yeah...there may be some flavoring of those ones but don't expect them to be Marvel in-character, okay? Any flavoring they got is from fandom osmosis.


	36. Chapter 36

Nightlight froze. The ballroom began to grow colder around the two of them, a wave spreading outwards from where they stared at each other. Frost began to creep across the floor from Jack's feet, and faint snowflakes drifted down from the air around the two spirits.

"Nightlight..." Jack said, quiet as a falling snowflake but loud as a falling rock in the circle of silence surrounding them. "Nightlight, please, tell me something this big wasn't kept secret."

Nightlight still stood frozen, his mind racing. The other Guardians, somehow alerted to the emergency, pushed through the circle surrounding them, and Jack looked at all of them rapidly, breath coming faster and faster, frosting in the air.

Nightlight raised a hand, reaching out towards Jack and Jack broke, leaping into the air and disappearing out a skylight, leaving behind staff and party and Guardians alike.

The party broke into furious whispers, and Tooth and Sandy braced themselves to follow.

Nightlight waved at them to wait, and took off after Jack himself, making a quick detour to get both staffs, more worried than ever when he realized that Jack had left his behind. Jack didn't let the staff leave his hand, for him to leave it behind...

The cold didn't bother him, he could take Jack's anger and pain in ways the others couldn't, and he was the one Jack had asked, who had failed at the moment of truth.

He was going to be the one to answer.

* * *

Jack was furious.

With the Guardians, who never told him something that important. With the other spirits, who apparently knew but never thought to tell him. With the other spirits, with the Guardians, who had probably been laughing at him. Stupid Jack Frost, thinks he's worth something, we won't tell him this super important part of being a Guardian. He's only worth his power, don't want to have to deal with him thinking he's actually part of us.

With himself, for thinking someone might actually want him around for once. With himself for forgetting his staff back at the Pole.

At least he wasn't dependent on it to fly anymore. Small comfort that was, he still had to go back to the Pole and get it. He needed it.

Worst of all was the little voice in the back of his head, asking again and again, "Why?"

Why didn't they ever tell him? Why didn't they kick him out when he tried to make them? Why did they stick around, tell him things, act like they cared, and never tell him this?

He landed in Antarctica, his landing sending up sharp spikes of ice and a billow of snow.

Jack spun and kicked out, sending sharp ice spikes shooting out. He never used his power like this, save the few times he lost control, those times almost always in lonely places like this save for when he lost control of that storm in Easter of '68, and that one wasn't started by him. It was dangerous, without his staff as conduit, and more difficult.

His emotions were in a muddle, and his emotions controlled his powers. Right now, he needed to get it all out. All the pain, the anger, the confusion, the hole suddenly ripped in his heart. He punched and lunged and kicked, screamed and cried and cursed, kicking up a storm to rival the one of Easter of '68.

There was little control or finesse, not without his staff. Later he would be able to be amazed that he could do so much without his staff, which had always focused his powers, which had always seemed to be the only way he could tap into his them at all, helpless as he'd been without it just a couple short years ago, during Easter of 2012.

Finally Jack exhausted himself, sinking to his knees on the ice.

No one there had come out and said the word 'Marriage' but him, but the look on Nightlight's face when Jack asked...what else could he think? With the conversation he had broken into, all the whispers he had been hearing, the way everyone reacted...he wasn't stupid. He could put the pieces together.

They'd been married. This whole time, they'd all been married, somehow, and Jack had never known.

Had Jack been married, too, all unknowing? No one had ever made a move towards him like that, had said anything...were they keeping it hidden from him so they wouldn't have to marry him, make him a full Guardian? Using him for his powers?

Did he even want to be married to them?

No! Yes. Maybe...? He was so confused.

There was a soft sound behind him, of someone landing gently on the snow and ice he had created, and Jack whipped around, ready for a fight.

Nightlight was perched lightly on one of the spires of ice Jack had created in his temper. He was looking around, whistling silently, not trying to hide his amazement.

In one hand he held his staff and in the other, Jack's.

Nightlight looked down at Jack and hopped off the spire, floating down to meet him. Standing only a few feet away, he carefully flipped Jack's staff with the ease of a long time staff wielder, offering it to its rightful owner.

Small lights glittered along the staff, stardust sparkling in the cracks, and Jack had to pause to take it in for a moment, remembering how nightmare sand had darkened those cracks the day Pitch had taken the staff from him. Then his hand was on the staff and frost coated the staff again, though there was still a faint glitter left behind.

Jack clutched the staff tight, frowning at Nightlight. He was furious, but even so, he didn't want to fight. He still cared about all of them, loved them, and though that made the hurt sharper and deeper, he wasn't quite ready to lash out at any of them. Physically, at least.

He was drawing breath, searching for words, when Nightlight spoke.

Actually spoke, not in Star, not with lights, but with words. Not in lights, but in a voice, soft and husky with disuse but growing stronger with each word spoken.

"It wasn't supposed to go this way," Nightlight said, his voice lighter than Jack's, the shock of hearing his voice making Jack stop and listen. "Each time we thought we were ready, something happened, and we were so sure you weren't. That this would happen."

Jack flailed, staring in shock at Nightlight before snapping out of it. "Well why not tell me right away?" he demanded, still angry, still hurt. "Why wait until now? Why let everyone else know and laugh at me, again? Do any of you even want me?"

The last question came out with more hurt than Jack had intended, and he turned away as he felt the tears well up.

He scrubbed a sleeve roughly across his eyes. "And don't try to say 'of course we want you'," he said harshly. "No one's wanted me for three hundred years."

Jack sighed, some small part of him allowing for, "Okay, I know Tooth hasn't left her palace for longer than I've been alive, and that probably goes for the rest too, but that doesn't change the fact that I've been alone the whole time, and that they lied to me."

He glanced back over his shoulder as he heard Nightlight move.

Nightlight was silent, unsure of what to say for a moment, before moving closer, careful to make his steps sound loudly on the fresh snow and ice, crunching with each step so Jack knew he was approaching.

"Do you remember," he said, "When I said the others – all of us, really – tend to forget that not everyone know things?"

Jack made a small noise of unwilling agreement. "For a long time, everyone knew the Guardians were married," Nightlight said. "Then...it was like everyone forgot. Including them. And just like everyone else, they assumed you knew. It was such common knowledge. They're married, they just haven't acted like it in centuries."

"Just like everything else," Jack muttered.

"And by the time they found out you didn't, it would have been so awkward," Nightlight agreed. "How do you tell that to someone? That the vow they just took was supposed to be a marriage vow, too, but they didn't know?"

"It didn't sound like a marriage vow," Jack said, shooting ice from the tip of his staff at one of the sculptures he'd made in his anger beginning to pace angrily. "I promised to protect the children. There was nothing in there I recognized about being married. They still should have said something later."

"It kept getting more and more awkward, the later they waited," Nightlight agreed, matching Jack's pacing until they were walking a circle, each on the opposite side of it. "But they told us they wanted you to feel wanted, first. To be happy, to feel secure that they cared. That they wanted you around for you, not because Manny said you should be a Guardian. They wanted you to be happy when they told you that it could be a marriage and they wanted you to be one of their Spice."

"Multiple for spouse," he clarified when Jack paused, looking at him oddly. Jack mouthed the word before he nodded shortly and continued his pacing.

Jack's temper was beginning to cool off. He was still hurt, and that wasn't going away, but his temper was always like that – unless it had a good head on it, growing slowly as a glacier until it became a cold ball of ice cold rage, then it flared and cooled quickly.

The hurt, though, wasn't gone, though it was dulled with Nightlight's explanation, a throbbing hurt instead of the knife through the heart it had been.

"That still doesn't say they couldn't clue me in earlier," he said.

"They thought they'd been caught over and over again, but you didn't pick up the hints," Nightlight said, and there was a hint of amusement there, and Jack had to push down a surge of anger and hurt at that.

"What do you..." he paused, and Nightlight nodded as he watched Jack think over the last few years, moments he had dismissed that took on new meaning with this information.

Jack cursed and flung a ball of ice, destroying one another of his sculptures, far off to the left of both of them. This show of temper was a bit out of character for him, but Nightlight thought he was entitled to it. Still, he didn't flinch, knowing to his core that Jack wouldn't hurt him, no matter how hurt, how angry he was right now.

"None of you could keep it hidden," Jack raged, the wind picking up again, blowing their hair and clothes about, snowflakes surging around them. "And I still didn't pick up on it! What good friends, I thought, I hope they like me, what an idiot!"

"You're not an idiot!" Nightlight snapped, and the tone made Jack pause, look back over at Nightlight, who never lost his temper. He was across the circle in a flash, gripping Jack's shoulders. "Don't you ever say that about yourself. You were almost totally alone for three hundred years, you're allowed to forget how to read people in that much time."

Jack's mouth opened and closed, staring at Nightlight blankly. His hand came up to touch Nightlight's, who seemed to realize what he had done, letting go of Jack's shoulders. His staff had been stopped from falling by the snow, resting at an angle, and he scooped it up.

Jack didn't move his hand from Nightlight's, sliding to hold it as Nightlight retrieved his staff.

"None of it was done because we don't want you," Nightlight said, back to his normal, quiet tone. "Most of it was because of how much we wanted you to stay, and how afraid of how you would react when you found out."

Nightlight squeezed Jack's hand. "I...you probably need a little time to think it over. I should go."

"Not far," Jack said, tightening his grip on Nightlight's hand when the star turned to fly away. Nightlight turned back to him, puzzlement plain on his face, and Jack looked away, frosting over his blush. "I...I might get into another spiral. I'm still angry, and I'm still hurt, and I have more questions. Can you wait at the Ice Palace? The cold won't bother you?"

"I'll wait for you there," Nightlight agreed, relief making him glow brighter than usual. Jack let go of his hand then and he rose into the air, ready to head for the palace.

"Nightlight?" Jack said before Nightlight could set off. Nightlight paused again, looking down at Jack, whose eyes had a spark of mischief and affection peeking out through the hurt. "I like your voice. You should use it more often."

Nightlight blushed and hurried off to the Ice Palace, Jack's laughter rising behind him.

* * *

Jack watched as Nightlight disappeared, holding his staff close. He was still angry and hurt, but Nightlight had helped.

If Nightlight was telling the truth, but Nightlight hadn't lied to him yet. Avoided telling him things, yes, but not outright lied.

Jack kicked at a small pile of snow. He'd had a good mad going, and Nightlight had ruined it. Now he had to actually be – ugh – responsible and think this through.

He could almost hear Cupid's lecture on how important communication was for relationships, and rolled his eyes. Boy, did the Guardians ever drop the ball on that one. Pretty important thing to know there, that taking the oath meant marriage!

Would he have taken it, if he'd known?

He wasn't sure, Jack had to admit. He wanted to think he'd say no still – he wanted to protect the kids, but he didn't know the Guardians well enough at that point for that kind of commitment, let alone with all his problems with trust. But if he was being honest with himself – something he didn't like doing but was forcing himself to be right now anyway – he might have said yes, if only so they wouldn't abandon him.

Okay, so he had issues and he knew it.

Jack sighed and dropped down into the snow, sprawled on his back. Why did everyone know and not him? Why didn't anyone ever tell him anything?

* * *

Halfway to the Ice Palace, Nightlight pulled up short. He'd forgotten to tell Jack about the warnings about the Winter Court!

He hesitated, hovering in midair, looking between the Ice Palace and where he'd left Jack.

Jack had so much on his plate right now, he didn't need this on top of it all...but he deserved to know. After finding out like this (Katherine really had planned a way for them to tell Jack once the party was over, a way to break it to him gently, or so she hoped), Jack deserved to know.

Mind made up, Nightlight changed direction and headed back to where he'd left Jack.

* * *

Jack flung another snowball at the hastily created statues of the Guardians. They only vaguely resembled the Guardians, but they were working.

He had to go back, sooner or later. Probably later, to let the party disperse, since this was a conversation they needed to have in private. But they needed to talk. He needed to know, he needed to hash this out. He'd taken the oath, now he needed to know everything that meant, no more holding anything back in case it upset him.

Then, maybe Jack could figure out what he wanted to do next.

Because despite the hurt and the anger, he still wanted to be a Guardian. Being married to all of them? It sounded pretty good, after a couple of years getting to know them – if he were being honest, of starting to fall for them, and in retrospect, so many of Cupid's little hints were making sense now. But not the way it had been handled!

He should have been _told_! It was his choice, he should have been given that choice, and allowed to make it, to choose – he would have wanted something like what they'd had, a time of being a Guardian followed by someday marrying into the group.

Now...now he wasn't sure.

Motion on the horizon caught his attention, and he paused, floating up to look.

Huh. Looked like Nightlight was coming back. Jack dropped back to the ground to wait. It was going to take Nightlight a while to get here. Hard to tell what he wanted...maybe they were going to get to actually yell this time.

Probably not, that was going to be him and Bunny, most likely. That was a conversation Jack wasn't looking forward too, given how quickly they could rile each other up, and how easy it would be to strike at a soft spot after knowing each other this long.

A faint sound from behind made Jack whip around, staff up and ready. No one should be down here but him and Nightight!

A woman stood there, a woman so pale she was turning blue. A woman who should have been warm, in her rich and heavy dress, weighed down with layer upon layer of velvet, shades of faintest blue to pure white. Hair as white as Jack's cascaded down her back, held in place by a crown seemingly made of crystal, one that reflected light in a way that Jack recognized as ice. It was intricate and large, and more snow and ice lined her robes, covering her shoulders like a heavy mantle of fur and trimming the dress.

"Hello, Jack," the Snow Queen said with a smile as cuttingly cold as the North Wind. "We need to talk."


	37. Chapter 37

Jack stared up at the Snow Queen, frozen with indecision.

He knew he didn't know much of anything of spirit politics, kept himself out of them as much as he could, talked his way out or threw a snowball and got himself out of there, but even he knew that he didn't want anything to do with the Snow Queen's Winter Court.

Especially when the ones she sent to drag him there didn't want to take 'No' for an answer. North's bag was bad enough – he'd fallen for that one since he hadn't thought Bunny would be involved in kidnapping him, given how they'd avoided each other since that disastrous Easter with General Winter – but it was gentle, very gentle, compared with how they'd tried to insist.

Though really, they didn't always try all that hard, sort of like the General, running off almost as soon as Jack was ready to fight.

...Given what Jack knew now about being a Guardian, suddenly the whole kidnapping thing took on a whole new meaning, one he would have to tease them about if things eventually worked out.

Urge to tease notwithstanding, Jack was still furious. The teasing could come after, if there was an after.

But Jack had never thought he would be face to face with the Snow Queen unless he found himself dragged to her court.

And Nightlight was coming still.

Did he know? Had he seen the Snow Queen coming? She'd apparently appeared out of the ice and snow, how could Nightlight have seen her coming?

Okay. Didn't matter. Right now, Jack had a bigger decision to make. Fight versus flight, when he knew he couldn't take down the Snow Queen, and there was no way she was going to let him run without a fight.

Talking it was, then. And he had to get out of here before Nightlight got to them, or they'd both be in the line of fire. On the one hand, backup, on the other, he wasn't so angry at Nightlight that Jack wanted to see him hurt, and the Snow Queen could dish out some major hurt when she was inclined.

The Snow Queen gave Jack a smile, coldly indulgent, as if she were looking at a wayward pet. Her mouth was the only part of her that moved, as though she were a statue of ice, not a living spirit. "You've certainly made everyone worry, Frostling" she said, still dismissive, uncaring, condescending. "Everyone will be so happy to see you safe and sound where you belong. As for this little game of yours, it's gone on for long enough, don't you think? Thank the cold it's over. Did you have fun? Did you get it all out of your system?" she asked, not sounding as if she actually wanted an answer.

Jack tried to speak and she spoke over him, still level, as if he hadn't tried at all. "Good, good. That's such a relief. It's time to go home now."

"Hell no!" Jack snapped, taking a step away. "Like hell I'm going anywhere with you!"

The Snow Queen frowned, though only her mouth moved, the rest of her face remaining still. "Language," she scolded, and Jack dodged a blow of icy wind with a yelp. "You have been left alone for too long. You need a reminder of discipline, little Frost. Thank the cold I found you before it was too late."

She glanced up, and Jack fumbled for a snarky comment as she saw Nightlight and her eyes narrowed, one hand raising to point his direction. "Oh, your face isn't frozen like that?" he jibed, throwing his own ice at her.

The glare turned back to him, and she ignored the ice he had thrown at her, though he saw it stick, saw the faint hint of a wince that her masklike face attempted to hide.

Then she was in front of Jack, less than a foot away, her hand clamping down on his wrist as he jerked away from her.

"Enough of this foolishness," she said. "You are coming home. Now."

Above, too far away, still too far away, Nightlight began to dive, pushing himself faster and faster, the wind kicking up around him.

Snow swirled around Jack and the Snow Queen, hiding them from sight even as Jack tried to pull away. It hid them from sight, and when Nightlight hit the edge of it the snow dropped to the ground, and they were gone.

* * *

Nightlight crouched where he had landed, the spot where Jack had been only seconds before, in shock. A few seconds, if he'd just been a few seconds faster...his free hand dug into the snow, digging as if Jack were still there, he just had to find him, where...

No. Now was not the time to panic. Nightlight pushed himself to his feet with his staff, rubbing a quick hand across his eyes.

This was war now, and it was time to think like it. With that, Nightlight shoved himself into the air. He needed to get back to the Pole, and fast, faster than he'd ever flown before.

Jack needed them.

* * *

The party was a mess. It had begun to dissolve as soon as Jack was out the skylight and continued to fall apart around the Guardians as Nightlight followed.

Arguments ranged around them, each and every spirit voicing their opinion on the situation. The sound was growing louder with each passing moment, and even the spirits who didn't care, who were dismissing the Guardians earlier, tearing them apart behind their backs, were getting into it.

North or Tooth might have been able to control the situation. They were both used to dealing with crowds. Sandy could have sent everyone around them to sleep with a flick of his hand and a touch of sand. Bunny would only make it worse, with his temper, arguing back with those who yelled accusations. Katherine was staring up through the skylight, her hands twisting around each other as she watched the sky, deaf to the crowds.

So none of them were controlling the crowd. None of them could, staring up at the skylight through which both Jack and Nightlight had disappeared, heartbroken and gutted and at a loss.

The arguing grew louder, the mood of the room turning ugly, a crate of dynamite looking only for the spark that would catch and set it all off.

And the lights sputtered.

Swirls of shadow enveloped the room, spinning around it faster and faster until everyone was screaming or cowering away from them. They stopped in an instant, dropping to the floor and sliding to the center of the room, rising in a formless blob, taller and taller, shaping itself into Pitch as it grew until he towered over them all.

"Enough," he thundered, the word echoing around the room, silencing everyone under the sound. Pitch shrank back to his normal size slowly, with many swirls of sand billowing about him as he did, telling those in the know (who, at the moment, consisted of Sandy and Bunny and would later be North and Tooth and Katherine, the only ones who would get an explanation from them) exactly how he had pulled off that trick. All eyes remained on him as he did – Pitch may have been much less powerful at the moment than he had been in a long time, at a low he had never before reached, but even the most cautious among them were wary of him even now.

There wasn't a spirit here who would have dared get him in the face with a snowball save the tricksters and Guardians, none here but a Guardian who would dare go up against him, and Pitch well knew it. Respect from fear wasn't a healthy respect, but it was the kind the Nightmare King commanded.

Everyone was still quiet, waiting for Pitch's next move. He drew breath, about to speak, when a speck of light heading towards the skylight drew his attention. "Oh, look, it's all been resolved already," he drawled.

Nightlight sped through the window, barely slowing down as he hit the floor, skidding along in a long arc – alone, everyone in the room noticed.

He had landed in a three point landing, one hand down and one back to balance himself, and hadn't fully stopped when he launched himself at the other Guardians.

Nightlight was flickering as he threw himself into North's arms, so fast and so bright it was as if the stars themselves had descended into the ballroom and set themselves to 'strobe'.

Bright enough that many spirits who dwelt in the shadows had to close and shield their eyes, though some, like Pitch, paid attention to the lights despite that out of stubbornness, and those who couldn't understand Star poked their neighbors for translations which weren't forthcoming with the speed and jumbled nature of what Nightlight was saying.

"Mate, slow down, I can't get more'n one word," Bunny said, a soft paw on Nightlight's back.

Nightlight looked over at him with huge eyes and took a deep breath, shame coloring his cheeks. He'd been a bodyguard, a soldier, he needed to have it more together than this.

Then again, this was personal, and he'd had a flight from one pole to the other to being imagining what could be happening to Jack the longer it took him.

Again in control, he light up, slow and deliberate. _The Snow Queen has stolen Jack._

The word was passed around the ballroom in hushed whispers, the news spreading in ripples, and the explosion that followed made the last seem a passing storm.

* * *

Jack ripped his arm from the Snow Queen's grip, only the fabric of his hoodie (which he had insisted on wearing, despite hints from North that the yeti could – would like to – make him new clothing for the party, something else that was in question now, why had he made the offer like that, was he embarrassed, did he want to mark Jack somehow, why) keeping him from getting gouges in his wrist from her nails.

"Whoa, hands off lady!" he said, stumbling back a few steps from the Snow Queen, eyes widening as he noticed the slick floor underfoot. Jack pulled his staff closer as he turned to look, careful not to turn his back to the Snow Queen.

This place...Jack had though his ice palace was cold and unwelcoming, but it was the Pole compared to here. Both buildings were build of ice, but Jack had been trying, ever since he met the few other spirits who were friends to him, to add a few touches to the ice palace. A tapestry or some pilfered prizes gifted from Loki that didn't fit the den, softer carvings, and the like, with things being added now that there were...had been...the Guardians to have visit.

This palace...the air was so cold even Jack's breath came out as fog and the ice was so cold that it was solid as stone as it rose high above them, thick and cloudy. It was dark here, shadows clinging to the ice and leaving the palace feeling cavernous – Jack had prided himself on the ice for his palace, how it was so clear the whole palace was brightly lit inside while the sun shone, bright as a palace made of glass. This ice...they had gone for strength over clarity, power over grace.

They were in a room that echoed with each small movement, the rustle of cloth loud as a shout where they stood, colorless save for the spirits within whose occasional movements as they stared at the return of their Queen with Jack in tow sounded loud as the party Jack had left, all thick cloudy ice in jagged carvings and deep, black shadows.

The Snow Queen began up the icy walk cutting across the center of the room, a different texture underfoot than the rest of the smooth floor, spirits parting for her and leaving a wide space around Jack.

A throne carved of yet more ice sat atop a high dais, and the Snow Queen stood before it, turning majestically before settling into the throne. Once she was seated it was as if she and the throne had been carved from the same piece of ice.

Jack glanced around again, taking stock of the other spirits. He didn't know much about the Winter Court, just what scraps he'd gathered, and he knew they'd tried to drag Loki in once – the trickster had complained about it for a month.

And he knew he didn't want to be here.

He knew this was trouble.

There were three wendigo lining a wall, their skeletal forms swaying faintly. A small herd of Nykur, the Icelandic kelpie, stood near their feet, the Nuckelavee standing near them, and Jack had to look away before seeing the creature made him ill.

The Nuckelavee was evil, with nothing redeemable about it, The creature looked like a rider and horse from afar, but the rider was merged with the back of the horse, legless and with a head too large, arms that reached the ground and had fins between the clawed fingers. The horse had claws rather than hooves, and a single blood red eye over a huge mouth filled with fangs, and the whole of it was skinless and raw and emanating malevolence.

It was a relief to look away from the Nuckelavee – and why was it here, wasn't there a sea-spirit that was supposed to hold it captured for all the year save winter? – and it was saying a lot when the next thing for Jack to see was Raw Head Bloody Bones and that was a relief.

Raw Head had been solidified lately into a new form, of a razorback hog skeleton with panther teeth, bear claws, and a raccoon tail wearing a pair of bloody overalls. It wasn't pretty, but it was more solid that the vague 'bloody creature crouching atop a pile of bloody bones' than it used to be, which was probably why it held to the form. Still bad news and an automatic enemy of a Guardian if he still went after kids, but better than the Nucklelavee.

There were a few yuki-onna around, standing in small clusters around the room, and Jack was as surprised to see Bloody Mary, Jenny Greenteeth, and the Gindylow as he had been to see Raw Head – those four weren't of Winter.

There were fewer spirits here than Jack had expected – admittedly, the ones that were here were more terrifying than he'd expected, but still. He'd never expected the Nucklelavee, who would have expected that?

Would the Guardians come for him? Was he going to have backup, or was he alone again? Nightlight saw him get taken, right?

No, now was not the time to think of the Guardians. Save your own skin first, Jack, then worry about the relationship, Jack scolded himself.

Outwardly, he plastered a grin across his face and leaned on his staff, careless as ever. "So this is the famous Winter Court," Jack said. "You know, I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting, I dunno, more grandour. Chandeliers, maybe. That or, maybe, like, terror? This place has nothing on Pitch's lair, come on. Though he'd probably love it, dark and cold and all that."

The spirits in the room shifted uncomfortably as Jack babbled – that, or watched him as if wondering what he would taste like.

The Snow Queen sat unmoved, though Jack would swear he saw the flicker in her eyes that meant annoyance.

"This frivolity is why you have been called home," she said. "Your little game is over now. I do hope you got it all out of your system. As I said earlier, it's time to learn discipline, little one. We've been too lax and we'll have to be quite strict with you now, it's obvious."

Jack's grip on the staff tightened and he began to speak, cut off by the Snow Queen. "We're just all so relieved you're finally safe where you belong. Welcome home, Jack Frost."

The throne room went black before flashing, so bright it made Jack cry out. When he could open his eyes, dashing away the tears the bright flash had caused, he froze.

This wasn't the throne room.

It was a large enough room, with a bed and a desk and several chairs, all of ice, all made to look elaborate, four poster bed and solid desk rising from the floor as a solid chunk of ice – and no doors. No windows.

For all it didn't look like one, this was a prison, and Jack was trapped in it, trapped at the Winter Court.

Not for long, if he had anything to say about it. Jack strode up to the wall, laying a hand on it to feel out the ice, and recoiled.

It was so cold it bit, even for Jack. This wasn't his ice, not his cold, this was like the General's – bitter and vicious cold.

And it wasn't going to obey him.

And until he could figure out how to make it, he really was trapped here.

* * *

A/N: One version of Raw Head and Bloody Bones was a boogeyman that crouched in the cupboard under stairs and ate children who were bad, adding their bones to his pile – and if you looked to see if he was there, you'd join the pile. Lovely. I first heard of him from someone who was making a statue of Raw Head, a "pig with the claws of a bear, teeth of a panther, tail of a raccoon, and overalls of a douchebag".

The Nucklelavee is actually a lot more disturbing and disgusting than I wrote it as, I was censoring a little.


	38. Chapter 38

The chaos raging around the Guardians kept them shocked still and speechless, unable to process what was happening.

They knew Jack had a reputation among the other spirits – Bunny had even brought it up when Jack was first chosen, and again when Jack had first arrived, about how Jack was nothing but trouble, just frozen water pipes and irresponsibility and selfishness.

But they hadn't realized how divisive Jack was among other spirits. Sure, most of them didn't think of him until he was right in front of them, but some of them held grudges almost better than Bunny did, and some of the others were loyal until the bitter end to spirits and causes that deserved it far less than Jack.

Pitch stood near the Guardians, watching it all with narrowed golden eyes, face otherwise blank and calculating. It was unnerving, and such calculating from Pitch never led to anything good.

Bunny's ears were swiveling, too many conversations going on at once to focus on one.

"We need to get out of here," Katherine said quietly. "I can't hear myself think. I don't know who here's on our side anymore."

Bunny stiffened, one conversation suddenly standing out from the rest, and he shot to his full height, looking for the source.

Pitch, with his unerring sense for drama, was already making his way towards the speaker, with Bunny following in his wake as spirits parted for the Nightmare King, leaving the speaker and her few supporters isolated.

Grimacing, the spirit stood straighter, glaring back at Pitch and Bunny as the other Guardians came to flank them. It felt strange to be including Pitch in this, but he was apparently in it for the drama, and wasn't going to listen to anyone anyway.

"Would you care to repeat that for the room?" Pitch purred, and the Guardians spared him a glance. It was odd, the last time he'd been enjoying himself like this had been...well, it had been Easter of 2012, when he'd nearly beaten them utterly.

The spirit – it took a bit to recognize them, as they were even more obscure than Jack had been, but after meeting Jack Katherine had been looking up other spirits and so they finally recognized her as recognized Peitharchia, the Grecian personification of Obedience and a minor spirit at best – drew herself up that much taller, as if that would help in the face of the group of angry, bewildered, frightened spirits.

"It's proof," she said, almost impressively stern and sure despite the eyes glaring at her, the much more powerful spirits already angry with her. "A spirit that irresponsible, as a Guardian? A protector of children? He acts like a child himself, how long until he gets bored and neglects the children? What can he possibly teach them?"

"As opposed to you, I suppose?" Loki's voice rose smoothly above the crowd, cutting short Bunny's angry retort before it could begin. "Wonder, Memories, Dreams, Hope, Imagination, Bravery, and...Obedience? Seems more something that gets drilled into children rather than something needing protection. And how is any of this proof Jack doesn't deserve to be a Guardian? He got kidnapped, he didn't desert his duties."

"You would think that, you agent of chaos," Peitharchia hissed before drawing herself back into her dignity. "Children need _discipline._ They need order and routine and to learn obedience. _Fun_ is...is..."

"Something you wouldn't recognize if it bit ya," the Groundhog muttered, to general titters, some of them of nerves rather than at the tired quip.

"At least I didn't try and get myself made a Guardian out of some...some base animal instincts," Peitharchia snapped back. "I'm faithful, unlike some!"

"Ah, yes, to Soter, personification of Safety," North said, oblivious as always – though this time, a twinkle in those famous eyes said he wasn't being quite as obtuse as usual this time.

Peitharchia nodded eagerly, grateful someone was following her train of thought. "Guardians like us could have save a child like Jack," she began, pausing as the air temperature dropped, turning to find the source.

Mirroring the Guardians stood the Jack's closest friends, the Tricksters and the Snegurochka, all of them glaring at her as fiercely as the Guardians.

"You've never saved a child," Olwen said angrily, her hair whipped by the cold the five of them were kicking up.

"Don't you say things like that about Jack," her sister Eirwen said. "He's a _hero_. He's _our_ hero."

"He was saving children before he was a Guardian," Eirlys said. "He's led them out of forests and back to their homes, strengthened the ice that threatened to give way. He's brought them joy for centuries, and you've done nothing. You don't have to be a Guardian to protect children."

"He killed them!" Peitharchia shot back, seeing her argument being shredded, the Guardians perking up at hearing what Jack had done for children before meeting them. He'd never mentioned leading children home out of the cold, and they wanted to hear the story of that...if Jack was still willing to speak to them. "You remember, don't you? Easter of '68?" she appealed to Bunny, whose ears were flat and fur slicked in anger.

"Oh aye, I remember," Bunny said, snapping off his words. "And Ah remember findin' out was General Winter's storm what killed them, not Jack. Woulda been worse w'out 'im. Was bad enough he lost control, was so strong." He deliberately left out exactly why it was too strong for Jack – it was none of their damn business. But it was one thing he could clear up for Jack.

Murmurs passed around the ballroom as this new information was passed along. Jack had always been tight lipped about just what had happened that day, always changing the subject whenever it came up or simply becoming defensive and angrily quiet.

"An' Loki was right," Bunny continued, drawing himself up to his full height, or nearly, as his ears were still tilted back in anger. "Quit changin' the subject and tell me how Jack bein' kidnapped proves he's not fit ta be a Guardian?"

"He should have been hers in the first place," Peitharchia snapped, to soft wordless murmurs of consideration if not outright agreement around her. "A winter spirit has no place among the Guardians! He should be among his own kind. He's too frigid to be a Guardian, look how he ran at the first mention of real warmth! Let the Snow Queen have him, it was just a matter of time as it was."

Now, although there were still some supporting Peitharchia's position, a few of the spirits abandoned her, slinking away into the mass of partiers.

"Okay, that's a bit too far," the Groundhog said. "Look, I'm pissed at being passed over for being a Guardian too, but that was before I remembered all the extras. Jack may be a right pain in the ass, but he's not Winter Court material."

"Never thought I'd agree with the Groundhog," Bunny muttered.

"We don't have time for this," Tooth broke in, wings fluttering furiously. "You can argue as much as you like about if you like Jack being a Guardian or not, but he is, so long as he wants to be!"

"Took oath," North agreed. "Has been best of Guardians. All is up to Jack. But must find him first, before Snow Queen can harm him. Yeti! Must to work!"

"We're sorry everyone," Katherine called, raising her voice to be heard over the rising chatter of the room. "But the party is obviously over. Unless you're going to help us rescue Jack, then we'll have to ask you to leave. No!" she snapped when Peitharchia began to argue, startling everyone into staring at her. "We don't have time for more arguing about who should or shouldn't be a Guardian! We love Jack, and we're going to save him, and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, just Jack! But I'll say this now, I can't speak for the others, but I won't support you being a Guardian now or ever after today!"

* * *

Jack struck at the wall again, little sparks of blue ice lightning kicking up behind his staff, but otherwise leaving the wall unmarked.

He staggered back from the wall, panting. Jack had tried every wall, every inch he could reach, and hadn't found a weak spot yet.

He was trying not to think too hard about it, but it was creeping up on him anyway. It was ice, it was his element, but it wasn't his ice, and it wasn't obeying him.

He was locked in. There was no way out, and the ice that should have moved for him, shaped itself under his power, was remaining stubbornly solid.

Jack stumbled back to the center of the room, panting as he twisted, looking for something, anything, he hadn't tried yet, feeling the panic trying to rise.

He'd never thought of himself as claustrophobic, and now wasn't a good time to learn that he was. Why would he, he had never been somewhere without an exit before, save Pitch's lair, and that had been terrifying for its own reasons, the closed in feeling had only been one more thing that could have been chalked up to Pitch's enjoyment of small, dark spaces and scaring the ever-loving crap out of anyone who came into his lair.

Jack took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. Okay, so he was locked inside a giant ice cube by a frozen woman, with an army of the damned at her command. Things weren't that bad.

Oh who was he kidding, yes they were!

No, Jack, think, how did Loki get out of this? Jack shifted his grip on his staff, unknowing that he had started to make it snow inside of the room, a light, soft, fluffy snow pulled from the ice as he remembered Loki's story of irritating the Snow Queen into letting him go.

He could be so much more irritating than Loki could dream. Loki had a bad tendency to slip and go too far, a product of being chaotic neutral as they all termed it, now that they'd learned that language, and of not caring at that point what the consequences were. Plus, Loki was only of Winter in a sideways fashion, it wasn't his main aspect like it was for Jack.

Jack had a feeling that was what had made Loki too much of a bother for the Snow Queen, and would make her keep trying with him.

Still, it was part of a plan, and it had helped calm him down – for now. Jack had a bad feeling that the longer he was in here, the less able he was going to be to calm down.

Opening his eyes, Jack let go of his staff and reached for a wall. Lying his hand flat against the ice, he stared deep into it.

It was almost like looking into the sculpture he and Pitch had made, down in the Antarctic, when they had fought. Dark and cold, but this wasn't nightmare dark, but killing cold, the worst of Winter made solid.

That was why it wasn't responding to him. Jack was the best of Winter, snowballs and sled rides and fun. This was the worst of Winter, death and frostbite and dark and cold.

Jack backed away, staff in the crook of his arm, rubbing the cold out of his hand. It bit, the death and pain of it more than the cold.

He continued to back away from the wall until he ran into the bed, spinning to face it as he caught his balance. Backing away from that ran him into the desk. Was the room smaller than it had been a minute ago?

It wasn't, right? It was the same size?

Jack clutched at his staff tight enough the grooves dug into his hands, the tips of his hair frosting over and biting into his cheeks as his head whipped back and forth. There had to be some way out of here, the Snow Queen couldn't have brought him here to lock him up in ice forever.

Right?

She wouldn't do that, right? She...she kept talking about him needing discipline, needing taught, he couldn't be taught if he was locked away in the ice, but what if that was her plan? Keep him locked away until he was more willing to listen to her?

Jack sank to his knees, chest heaving as he panted. Think, think, he couldn't get out of here if he panicked, how was he supposed to calm down and think when he was trapped?

Jack spent the next batch of time lost to panic. He couldn't tell when if finally began to ebb out of exhaustion just how long he'd lost to it. Ha wasn't prone to panic attacks, he wasn't sure how to deal with it. But he was used to dealing with everything alone and taking care of himself, so as sense returned, he reluctantly crawled onto the ice bed and curled up on top of it, hugging his staff close so no one could take it as he slept.

It was cold, and hard, and nothing compared to the nest in his den or the bed North had given him at the Pole (was that still his? They had given it to him without asking anything in return, but...) and without thinking Jack summoned up snow to bury himself in, too exhausted to pursue the lines of thought swirling around his head or to ignore them.

He could only let them run their course and fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

After Katherine's uncompromising dismissal, Peitharchia and the spirits still resentful had retreated to the far side of the ballroom. Some of them had left, but a few of the more stubborn, like Peitharchia herself, had stayed to watch.

Most of the other spirits who had attended had left, unwilling to get caught up in a war between the Guardians and the Winter Court. They left well wishes or small charms, but most of them simply weren't powerful enough to get caught up in a battle of spirits that strong and did not have ties strong enough to make them stay.

The Erotes had stayed, to general surprise, as had the major tricksters and Snegurochka. There was little the Snegurochka could do – they were minor spirits at best, even with the boost of power Jack had given them – but they were still of Winter, and they loved Jack.

And, to even more surprise and suspicion than the Erotes, Pitch had stayed. He was hovering in the shadows and watching, but whether that was to gloat as the Guardians panicked or to further some other plan no one was sure.

Sandy floated over to speak to him as the yeti made swift work of turning the ballroom into a war room, the conversation almost entirely silent.

He floated back over as the yeti brought in the last touches, confused but shaking his head when Bunny looked from him to Pitch. It seemed Pitch was to stay, for now.

Baby Tooth hovered over her mother's head, too agitated to leave and take over work at the Tooth Palace. Her sisters could handle that, she needed to be here.

The yeti spread out a map and Eirlys, the boldest of the snow maidens present, came forward to study it.

"I think...the Snow Queen's castle is around here," she said, pointing. "I can't be more exact than that, I'm sorry. She's too powerful, and she's gotten scarier and scarier and more powerful spirits in her Court and we've all been to scared to go near. It's hard to know if she'd try and pull us in as servants since we're Winter of if she's let her courtiers play with us. And not Jack's type of play. I'm sorry," she repeated, drawing back her hands before she could spread cold onto the map. "We've never been strong enough to face off against a yuki onna or wendigo, and there's been rumors she has worse now."

"I don't know what exactly," she said when all attention turned to her from the map, wilting for a moment before visibly gathering herself. "It's all just rumor. You wouldn't have heard them, you're all too strong. No one has to warn you to stay away from places or things or risk getting stolen. We're lucky, we have Jack and he'd notice if we were gone, but there's a lot out there who don't. We have to talk to each other when we pass or we're all be picked off."

"Do ya have any idea wha' she's got?" Bunny asked. "It's fer Jack, we gotta go in there," he reminded Eirlys when she hesitated.

She looked to her sisters, who were conferring before pushing Eirwen forward. She whispered frantically to Eirlys, who repeated what she was told.

"It's all rumor, and nothing solid, okay? And there haven't been names anyone can pin down, just rumored that they heard the Queen out. But we've heard it's more killer spirits, like the wendigo. Spirits like Raw Head Bloody Bones, or Bloody Mary. Spirits that aren't technically Winter."

"Well, that's cheating," Loki commented. He looked back blandly at the dumbfounded and disbelieving expressions turned his way, breaking into a grin as they turned back.

Baby Tooth chirped rapidly, and Tooth turned to her daughter, reaching up to let her land in her hands.

"I don't think that's going to work," she told Baby Tooth sadly. Baby Tooth chirped again, more defiantly than before, stronger.

The rest of the Guardians stared at the tiny fairy in Tooth's hands, Katherine jerking as Loki poke her gently.

"Care to translate for the rest of the room?" he prompted her.

"Baby Tooth says she can find Jack," Katherine said. "But...Baby Tooth, how? we all want to find him, but you're Tooth's, not Jack's. Jack's not losing teeth," she said gently to the little fairy. "There isn't a connection to him strong enough yet, not for any of us."

Baby Tooth huffed and stamped her tiny foot, turning her back on Katherine.

"Maybe the little one can," Thor suggested. "Maybe she does have that connection. She's bigger than the rest, and more blue than green. Her feather's half white, too."

The Guardians stared at Thor blankly for a few long, awkward seconds before they slowly turned as one to look at Baby Tooth.

* * *

A/N: Trying to find the cut-off point for this chapter was so hard, ugh.

Shout out to neutrallibrarian for suggesting Peitharchia as the spirit to stir things up, and to user chessstar for reminding my that Jack's not going to do well in enclosed spaces.


	39. Chapter 39

Baby Tooth looked rapidly between all the spirits staring at her, chirping and blinking, before settling and preening a little under all the attention. After a moment she took to the air, hovering over the map and giving a little turn so everyone could see her better.

She was more blue than green now, and the golden feathers around her throat and atop her head were fading to a brilliant snowy white. Her wings remained the same rainbow they had always been, and the markings around her eyes were still Tooth's purple, but one eye was Jack's blue while the other remained her mother's pink. And when one of her sisters darted down to hover beside her, the change to her size was more obvious. It wasn't a large difference, not yet, but it was there, and there was no telling yet how much more she might change.

"I...how did I not notice?" Tooth said, her heartbreak clear in her voice. Baby Tooth chirped in distress and darted to hug her mother's cheek, chirping softer as Tooth's hands cupped her, not as closely as she could have once now that Baby Tooth had grown. "One of my fairies...what's happening? Have I really been so blind?"

"Green to blue, yellow to white – little hard to see at glance," North said gently. "But still, why is happening?"

Baby Tooth was chirping out her story before North had finished speaking, the beginning of her story mixing with his question. The tone of her chirps were reassuring but anxious, and even the tricksters were silent as she spoke, thought they didn't understand a word of it. It was still obvious this was an important moment between Tooth and her fairy.

Tooth sniffed, wiping at her eyes, looking at the fairies clustered around her. "Is this all true? You all...?"

The fairies chirped affirmatives or blushed and looked away. Tooth smiled down at her daughter in her hands, tears still welling in her eyes, before bringing her up for a kiss.

"Jack gave them names," she said, wiping at her eyes again, explaining to those who hadn't understood Baby Tooth. "As a present. He brought them lists and helped them choose names. So they could be individuals. So no one could name them and try to control them. To protect them. But Baby Tooth...he accidentally named her, during Easter 2012, and he picked out a name for her while the rest were choosing. A special, secret name that she doesn't want to use everyday. One she took for her own. It's why she's changing. She's Jack's now, as much as she's mine. She _can_ find Jack."

Baby Tooth gave a triumphant chirp, crossed her arms and nodded decisively at Katherine, who had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggle.

"I wonder if Jack realized what he did when he gave you that name," Tooth murmured, looking down at her daughter. "Or if he knew how much more solid it was when he gave you the second. If either of you know just how far this might go. That must have been the key, when he offered it and you accepted."

She gave herself a shake, wings fluttering. "Later! That's for later. I'll worry about that later," she said, almost as if to convince herself. She smiled down at her daughter, a sharp smile that suddenly reminded everyone that she had once been titled not just a Queen, but the Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies. "We've one advantage now. No one will see Baby Tooth leading us to Jack."

"Doubt they'll see you coming with more than just the six of you, either," Puck pointed out, leaning against Loki's shoulder. "That is, if we get a move on and catch the element of surprise. I don't want them with access to Jack any longer than we can prevent, if you catch my drift."

With that, everyone bent again over the map, and the planning began in earnest.

* * *

Jack blinked his eyes open and immediately buried his face into the snow he'd created.

No change. And he'd been dreaming, such a good dream, snuggled into the grass of the Warren with Bunny and Katherine and Nightlight, the spring sun warm on his back while the wind held the nip of just departing winter.

Waking from that to remember that he was trapped here was like plunging into the Arctic.

For a moment Jack was tempted to bury his head in the snow and go back to sleep – what was the point of being awake if he was just going to end up in another panic attack – when it hit him.

Snow. The bed hadn't been covered in snow when he went to sleep, and this wasn't the Snow Queen's snow. It was light, and soft, and just wet enough to make the perfect snowball – Jack's snow.

If he could make snow, even in here...then again, he'd done it while thinking happy thoughts. His feelings about the Guardians were mixed at the moment, and being trapped in here...happy thoughts were a little harder to come by while awake.

Unbidden, Nightlight's last words to Jack rose in his mind, the reminder that the Guardians forgot about being married themselves, that they forgot other spirits didn't know the things they knew.

But they still lied. They could have told him, at some point. Like maybe...no, he would've run if they said it then...no, he was trying to push them away then, telling him would have blown up even worse...they should have told him right away.

Okay, so he flew off right after the whole thing was over to recoup, but the next time they saw him would've worked.

It weighed on him, the dichotomy between the way they had acted and the fact that they lied (by omission, but it was still a lie) about the nature of the relationship.

It was confusing and a distraction from thinking about getting out of here. Which he needed to do. So he could confront the Guardians.

Except that he really needed to think about what he wanted out of that. Ugh, being mature and all was the worst. And he kept thinking about it when he couldn't afford to be distracted.

Jack groaned and rolled over in the bed of snow, throwing an arm over his eyes. Okay, think. Not about the Guardians. Think about that later, when this is all over. He could take all the time he wanted to think about the Guardians then. Right now, escape. First off, what did he have?

His staff, that was one. It wasn't strictly necessary anymore as belief in him, personally, grew, but it was still a pretty big factor in his powers. A bit surprising that hadn't been taken. He had the odds and ends in his hoodie pocket that he kept with him all the time, for magic. He and North had been meaning to talk about that, but just hadn't found the time yet. Most of it was only good for folk magic kinds of things, but when they were done by a spirit, and one with the power he had, they had more oomph than expected. And when no one expected it, then they were that much more powerful.

He had the ability to be incredibly annoying. That could be useful...so long as he didn't annoy the Snow Queen into drastic measure.

What he didn't have was a plan or an escape route.

There was a creaking from the ice, a sound similar to two iceburgs slowly grinding against each other, and Jack peeked out from under his arm.

He doubted the Snow Queen was going to crush him with the ice – why kidnap him if that was what she wanted, and after that lecture – so he laid there and waited. Not a chance he was going to show respect and get up.

A crack formed in the wall, splitting it open with a sound like thunder, and the ice pulled apart with a great creaking and groaning to form a door.

Which opened in a rush of icy wind for the Snow Queen.

"Hm, I'll give it a six," Jack declared. "Good sound effects, but could be more dramatic overall."

The Snow Queen paused, staring at Jack coldly as she processed what he had said. The ice closed behind her as her eyes narrowed at Jack.

"You are mouthy," she said, a throne of ice forming under her hand. She sat down in it, moving less like a humanoid spirit and more like slightly stilted animation, still fluid but missing frames. She smiled, a smile that was meant to be maternal and soothing but still had malice to it, a well rehearsed smile that didn't reach her still frozen eyes.

Jack was about to retort to that, when he bit it back. "Oh, you're not the first to complain," he said instead. "We could trade insults all day. Why not get to the point?"

"So impatient," the Snow Queen scolded. "Winter should be patient. Winter should always be patient. Ice deals the most damage over time."

Great, a lecture on how Winter should behave. Like he hadn't heard that before.

The Snow Queen fixed Jack with a look, one that took his breath away, snatched like an icy wind snatched the breath away from humans, and he was sharply reminded that, for all she hadn't raised a hand to him yet save to kidnap him, she was one of, if not the most, powerful Winter spirits.

"You were always meant to be mine, Jack," she said. "I have wanted a child for so long, but mortal children sicken and die so quickly in the cold. My kiss can make them immune to the cold, forget their families, but they cannot thrive here, and eventually I must give them that final kiss. The Tsar Lunanoff, fool he is, stole you from me. He should have no power left, and yet." She smiled, aiming for sweet but only managing cold, and for a moment Jack sincerely wondered if her face would crack, mimicking that expression.

And what was she even talking about? Manny chose him and lent him the power to rise from the lake, the Snow Queen had nothing to do with it.

"Poor Jack, left alone for so long. It's good you're finally home. You've so much to learn, no wonder you fell in with such bad company. But it's all over, and Mother's here now."

"I'm not a child, and you sure as hell aren't my mother," Jack said flatly, perched atop his pile of snow.

The Snow Queen narrowed her eyes again, looking at Jack with faint smugness. "So they all say, at first," she said softly, not gently, the softness of the first snowflakes of the deadly blizzard. Jack's grip on his staff was tight enough he could feel the grooves digging into his hands, and he glared back at the Snow Queen.

"You're thinking the Guardians will come for you," she said, something almost like amusement in her voice, though she could not quite mimic something so warm. "Silly little Winter. Set one foot out of line, and what keeps them from treating you as they did the Nightmare King, as they did my Krampus, my General?"

"They attacked first," Jack protested, keeping to himself the history behind them all and focusing on the main injustice in her statement. He paused, a thought that had been yelling for attention at the back of his mind finally catching him. "Wait, what do you mean 'they all say that'?"

"Don't you know even the most basic of Winter tales, Frostling? Your lack of education is truly shocking," the Snow Queen scolded. Meanwhile, Jack's mind was moving miles a minute as he tried to remember those hours spent brushing up on tales with Katherine, bringing them both back up to speed. Snow Queen...children...shard of ice in the heart and eyes, to freeze the heart and warp the vision, see only the bad and the ugly...one kiss to numb the cold, one to forget, a third to kill.

He eyed her nervously. The first kiss wouldn't work on him – the cold never had bothered him, not since he'd risen from the ice, even when he was in temperatures that would have killed a human – but the second. The second had him suddenly nervous.

If she made him forget...he'd forgotten far too much already, he wasn't sure he could handle it if he forgot again and had to...to live with that, with the uncertainty of not knowing who he was, unless someone managed to help him. Tooth may have had his teeth, but that wouldn't help with the last year.

And, whether it was a lie or not (he wasn't sure, didn't think it had been a lie save for leaving out one vital fact) he didn't want to forget.

"I killed General Winter," Jack said, "And Krampus is being treated better than I am! Doesn't anybody eat around here? Or sleep? Look at this bed, come on."

The Snow Queen looked down at Jack impassively. "Quarters to an individual's taste are earned. And with your attitude, that may take some time. Though that's a pity, Frostling. You would look so much more the part in a more thematically appropriate outfit."

"I am a Guardian," Jack snapped. "Your idea of thematically appropriate isn't."

"You should have been mine!" the Snow Queen snapped, her temper suddenly breaking through. "Tsar Lunanoff had no right to interfere with Winter to create you in the first place, but once he did you should have come to a Winter Court. It's past time you were back!"

She slumped back into the chair, visibly gathering herself. "And now I'm the bad guy," she said, rubbing her forehead. Jack watched, shaken, at the display, for a moment half believing the act.

Until he remembered all the children, the Kays and Gertas, those who survived the tale and those who didn't that Katherine had found, that he'd forgotten about in the rush of kidnapping and panic attacks. How many of them had she pulled this on, this act of caring, and they'd been desperate enough to believe? The emotional manipulation, the back and forth, warping words until they believed?

It wasn't going to work this time, Jack was sure. He wasn't a child, and she was too impatient, this time. He hoped.

Jack glared at the Snow Queen. The room was silent as icy death as the two watched each other narrowly. Abruptly the Snow Queen stood, the rustle of her clothes loud as a shout in the quiet.

"You're in no mood to listen," she said dismissively. "We will speak again later, and perhaps you will be more receptive then."

The Snow Queen paused inside the crack of a door, looking back at Jack coldly, calculatingly, measuring him against some image only she could see. "You are not the Winter Prince I would have chosen, perhaps, but with a bit of work you should do nicely. Until then, you are going to stay here until you learn to be a proper, obedient Winter Prince."

The wall sealed behind her, leaving Jack glaring at his reflection in the dark ice.

"We'll see about that," he muttered. Anger had replaced the fear as he dug in his hoodie pocket, staff resting in the crook of his arm.

Careless, to leave his staff with him and everything in his pockets. Careless, or more likely, arrogant, too arrogant to believe Jack Frost could get away, that his folk magic (which everyone forgot he dabbled in for his own safety) and his staff would be enough.

"We'll just see."


	40. Chapter 40

The war planning was not going well.

There were too many variations, none of them anyone could plan for. Who was in the Winter Court? Loki remembered the ones he'd seen, but the full court hadn't been there. Were there more? Less?

What about the Snow Queen herself. Katherine had sent a yeti to fetch the book she had been reading, one that had a chapter on the Snow Queen, and had to send them back for it when they accidentally brought her the still sleeping Mr. QWERTY instead.

Katherine's hand rested on his cover as she flipped through her book, reading the relevant passages aloud.

Thoughts buzzed angrily around their heads as she read. How much of that could the Snow Queen still do? Could she do more now? Wasn't there a movie recently, something with a Snow Queen? Would children be getting them confused and changing her powers?

They couldn't go charging in there without knowing what they were up against, no matter what some of them thought. If the Snow Queen could take Jack so easily, then...

Even with a group of them, if she was at whatever palace she had created to be her stronghold, with her court, all the spirits that might have grown since they tried to draw in Loki...it might be more than even they could handle. Especially if they weren't prepared.

The wait was chafing on all of them, even the most patient, the most cautious. Jack was in danger, more and more as they needed more and more time to plan but how could they plan when they didn't know anything about the Winter Court?

Pitch stepped forward, out of the shadows, drawing attention to himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused, an expression of bafflement mixed with surprise and alarm crossing his face before he disappeared just as a shadow does when the light is turned on.

* * *

Pitch stumbled through the mirror, feeling the welcome shiver over his skin. It had been a very, very long time since anyone had tried summoning his this way. Children forgot things so quickly, it was a wonder sometimes any spirit dealt with them at all.

There was something off about this summoning and this mirror, though.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Pitch raised what would have been an eyebrow at the 'mirror' – a sheet of ice so pure it passed as a reasonable mirror, clear enough to cast a fairly good reflection.

That was...unconventional.

Someone cleared their throat, and Pitch turned back, going still as he saw who had summoned him.

"Frost," he said, tilting his head. "Well, what a surprise." He glanced again at the mirror of ice before letting his eyes travel over the room they were in, noting the lack of doors or windows as he did. "You do know you're too old for me to kidnap through the mirror, correct?"

"Aw, and here I thought it was a quick way out," Jack replied, the teasing tone tighter than usual, an edge to it that Pitch didn't care for, though he would never have admitted it.

Jack's teasing demeanor fell, replaced by seriousness and strain. "Okay, I don't have it in me to banter with you right now."

"Jack Frost, spirit of Fun? Unable to banter? Why..."

Jack swung his staff sharply, cutting Pitch off. "Look, we're in the Snow Queen's castle, okay? Unless you want her to catch you here, we gotta make this quick. And don't try bluffing, we both know you can't leave unless I release you. I used the adult version of the ritual, not the kid's Bloody Mary challenge. Speaking of which, guess who joined the Winter Court?"

"She has Bloody Mary here?" Pitch said, eyes narrowing.

Jack nodded. "And Raw Head Bloody Bones, Jenny Greenteeth, Grindylow, and the Nuckelavee. Sandy already told me how much you hate the creepy-pasta urban legend type spirits. Well, here they are. Surprised she hasn't tried for Slenderman yet."

Pitch scowled, glancing upward. "So why call me here? I'm not exactly on your side."

"You're not on theirs, either. You want the urban legends to get stronger from leeching off the Snow Queen? Shouldn't they be answering to you? Look, you warned me about the Winter Court," Jack said, poking a finger into Pitch's chest. "You were the first to bring her up. You know what the Snow Queen is like. I don't yet, but I'm getting there."

"You've seen nothing," Pitch said, batting away Jack's hand. "...have you?"

"Nothing but posturing yet, but I heard about the kisses and the mirror," Jack snapped back. "You might not be on my side, but do you want me on hers?"

Pitch huffed, but despite his apparent indifference his mouth tightened, hands clutching his arms as he eyed Jack, seeming to attempt to picture Jack as a proper Winter Spirit.

"So what do you expect me to do? We're enemies, remember?" he finally asked, as if repeating it often enough would get him out of there without promising anything.

Jack crossed his arms and glared back at Pitch. "Do you really think we won't be if she has her way? I don't know what she's willing to do, do you want to find out what Jack Frost is like after the Snow Queen's had her way? You do remember that I was the one to kill General Winter, I'm not proud of that but it's true."

Pitch scowled. "It's still hard to believe you did that," he said.

"Well, it's true," Jack began, cut off by Pitch, who began thinking aloud as he paced.

"The Snow Queen enjoys death," he said, and Jack watched, getting the feeling he was unnecessary at this point, and wondering at this sudden emergence of the general, which Katherine had assured him Pitch was capable of, more complex than the plan of Easter of 2012 which had come so close to success. "Knowing she's only known now because of some children's film has to chafe. She'd already nearly been forgotten. She lost control of Winter ages ago, to Old Man Winter and General Winter. Took both. Knowing you're the season now..."

"Wait, what?" Jack said, breaking Pitch out of his monologue.

Pitch blinked at him. "Which part?"

"I...uh...I'm just Jack Frost," Jack said. "You know, windows and water pipes and snowball fights? I'm not...I'm not a Season."

Pitch ran a hand over his face. "Frost, that...you...fine. Fine, it's not like most other spirits realize it yet either, but it's obvious now, ever since you took that ridiculous oath. You're Winter, and you're Fun. You're...I can't believe I have to set this out for you. Me, of all spirits. Ugh. You're gentle winters, and she's killing winters. And so far, you're more powerful, and you have belief behind you. And you're not a child but you're close enough for her. Starting to get an idea?"

Jack had gone pale, quite the trick for him, before shaking his head. "She..."

"She would, whatever you're thinking. I really ought to be sitting back and enjoying this," Pitch said, tilting his head and looking Jack over. "I cannot believe I'm going to end up helping you. But you were right. I can't have her controlling you. That will be a disaster."

"What's the catch?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"The catch is to get me to do it before I change my mind," Pitch said, rolling his eyes. "Can you do this again? Or at least make space under the bed?"

Jack glanced over at the bed, still buried in snow, and shrugged. "I...guess. Can you still use that? You pointed out I'm not exactly a kid."

Pitch waved a hand. "I've ended up under enough adult beds to be sure I can. Highly unpleasant, not recommended, though it still better than the teen beds. Leave it open with an invitation – keep it dark and clean, that should be enough – and there'll be no problem. Clean your room, Frost. Before the Snow Queen realizes what you've done."

Jack's mouth twisted but he gestured at the bed with his staff, the snow swirling back up into the pile atop the bed and leaving the underside dark and empty.

Pitch was about to speak when he paused, his head tilting. "Undo the summoning," he hissed. "Hurry! One of those little upstarts is coming, they'll sense me and who knows what could happen, probably go running to that Queen."

Jack sucked in a breath and gestured quickly at the mirror. Pitch didn't stay to hear the release incantation – with a spirit doing folk magic, intention was enough.

He reappeared in the Guardian's ball – turned – war – room, drawing himself up as eyes turned to him.

* * *

It took time, time they didn't have, to get Pitch to give up his information. He was enjoying having it to dangle over their heads too much to give it over easily, though the Guardians who had interacted most with him, Sandy and Nightlight and Katherine, knew he had given in easily and quickly, for Pitch.

The mention of the urban legends in the Winter Court and the irritation with the Snow Queen's presumptions and kidnapping were what they chose to blame for that, for now at least. There wasn't time to contemplate anything more complex, not now. Maybe once Jack was safe, there would be. Maybe they would have forgotten by then. It didn't matter.

What did was that Jack had somehow known a way to summon Pitch with a bit of old folk magic lore, a bit of slumber party tricks, something on the level of repeating "Bloody Mary" into a mirror in the dark combined with a bit of this and that until it was more than just a challenge as the original chant had been, one that had worked with the power of an already powerful spirit and bolstered by Guardianship until Pitch had been compelled to answer.

Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten much useful information. The names of spirits in the Snow Queen's court none of them had expected – they had expected Windego, the yuki-onna, perhaps Marzanna and Old Man Winter too though Jack hadn't seen those, maybe, if things were the worst they could be, the Wild Hunt though they were only tangentially connected to Winter – but Raw Head Bloody Bones had nothing to do with Winter at all.

Niether did Bloody Mary, Jenny Greenteeth, or, most importantly, the Nuckelavee. That spirit was said to never stop once it had started chasing someone, though clear water would stop them, or at least it was said to as none of them had wanted to try it.

Currently, Pitch was frostily shutting out the Groundhog, who was cowering behind the tricksters. The Groundhog had made the mistake of arguing with Pitch about bringing Jack back through the mirror, arguing that Jack acted enough like a child Pitch should have been able to do it without a problem, did he want the Snow Queen to have Jack?

Asking why he couldn't bring Jack along was one thing, but to continue to question the Nightmare King after he very reasonably answered – admittedly with more than a little condescension but still what did they expect – and to go so far as accusing him of refusing to do it out of spite went a bit far, especially for a non Guardian wanna-be who was only here for the drama and wouldn't be helping to rescue Jack, as Pitch grumbled under his breath.

The Groundhog was going to be wary of shadows (including his own) for quite awhile after Pitch's snarled reaction to his impertinent questioning.

The fact remained, though, that at the mention of the Nuckelavee and Wendigo, North was on his way and ready to go.

"Krampus was once part of the Winter Court," Pitch called after the departing spirit, his voice carrying as he seemed to inspect his nails uncaringly. "Don't you have him stuffed into some dungeon around here?"

"Is not dungeon!" North protested, as the other Guardians did variations on the face palm and the spirits who had stayed began whispering among themselves again. "What? He attacked, we defended. Is good idea, but must be quick! Do not have time to waste!"

"We'll have less if we run in there without a plan," Thor said, speaking for the first time since the war council had started. "If he'll give information then we need to spare a few minutes."

"Come then," North said, setting off towards the elevators.

"Only those who are going to actually help, please," Tooth called when it looked there would be a mass migration towards the elevator. "There's isn't enough room for everyone."

Somehow, Pitch ended up in the same elevator as the Guardians.

It was, quite possibly, the most awkward elevator ride in the history of the North Pole.

* * *

Jack stared at the mirror he had created out of ice, the room suddenly feeling colder and emptier despite the fact that it had been Pitch he'd been sharing it with.

At the moment, even Pitch was preferable to what waited outside. The known versus the unknown and all.

His reflection was distorted in the mirror. Jack had used the clearest ice he could create rather than trusting the ice the Snow Queen had left, ice that was tainted with her version of Winter.

It...wasn't as clear as he'd made before. Not even as clear or as reflective as the ice sculpture he and Pitch had inadvertently made down in Antarctica, but it cast enough of a reflection it seemed.

That had been an aggravating mix of let down and useful. Jack wasn't quite sure what he'd expected, summoning Pitch, but most of the spirits he knew didn't have a summon, save losing a tooth, and Tooth might actually do something irreversible to him if he tried that. Besides, his teeth were all adult teeth, and neither she nor the baby teeth sensed adult teeth being left under pillows.

Well, at least Pitch hadn't laughed at him, or drawn down the Snow Queen, or any of the other scenarios Jack had imagined. He was still a line of communication, unwilling to play messenger perhaps but more unwilling to go up against a Jack enslaved by the Snow Queen.

Honestly, at this point, Jack would take it. Even if Pitch was unwilling to do more than pass a message along – and really, why would he be willing to do more than that? It was a bit amazing he even agreed to do that much, considering his history with the Guardians – that was more than Jack had before calling him.

If getting Pitch to do it out of spite was how he had to do it, then he would. That could be fun!

That was worrying Jack. His center was Fun, and there was precious little of that to find here. None that was healthy, at least.

What was staying here going to do to him? He was Fun, what happened to Jack Frost when he couldn't have Fun? When he was trapped inside a small room, without the wind, starting to feel the edges of panic creeping up on him again, and knowing that was just what the Snow Queen was likely counting on.

Well, who said he couldn't? Okay, the Snow Queen hadn't said it yet, but it was pretty obvious she expected him to sit here quietly fearing what she was going to do next. But who was Jack Frost if not annoying to people just like her? He hadn't really expected Pitch to do much, now it was time to get to work on the rest of his ideas.

Either he was going to annoy them into letting him go or into something drastic. Wouldn't be the first time.

* * *

Krampus was being kept on one of the lowest levels of the Pole, where rooms had been carved out of arctic ice. Most of them were used for storage, mostly of food, but a few had been converted into cells for the Winter spirit.

They were pretty far back, though not at the very back – far enough back the Yeti didn't have to constantly be around Krampus, but not so far back that they weren't passing by on a fairly regular basis to keep an eye on him.

The group came to a stop outside the door to Krampus' cell, which was more a suite than cell, given it had a bedroom, sitting room, and mostly unnecessary bathroom, all of them comfortably furnished, if plain.

He may have been involved in a plot to try and kill them, but with Jack around, they were beginning to understand his reasons. Not enough to let him go anytime soon, but enough to keep him comfortable and try to reason with him.

The door opened with a creak, and they all filed inside to face what lay within.


	41. Chapter 41

Krampus stood, watching silently as spirits filed in.

"What's this, finally got sick of talking and holding a trial?" Krampus asked. He was trying for flippant, for the mildness he'd been using since being thrown down here to make himself seem harmless, but traces of worry leaked through, and Pitch's grin was downright gleeful as he and Krampus eyed each other. "What, you suddenly on their side?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Pitch scoffed, though Sandy was eying him contemplatively.

"Is the Snow Queen," North said before Pitch could say something that would spiral them down into a fear spirit ego measuring contest. "You used to be part of her court, yes?"

Krampus eyed North for a moment before shrugging, apparently deciding to go along with this for now. "I was. I wanted to be believed in. Some of you would understand about just what a spirit might do to be believed in."

"Why did you leave?" Katherine asked, and Nightlight drew her a little closer as Krampus turned his eyes to her. Katherine was strong, yes, and could take care of herself, but in terms of a straight fight she was still one of the weaker Guardians. "How did you leave?"

"I was supposed to be a spirit that scared kids into good behavior," Krampus said after an uncomfortable pause, visibly trying to place Katherine. "The Snow Queen wanted me to take the kids to her. I always took them back by the end of the night, no real harm done."

"Physically," Bunny muttered.

Krampus ignored him with no more than a quick glare. "She wasn't going to give them back. They may have been bad kids, but they didn't really deserve to have their hearts frozen or eventually freeze to death when they weren't what she wanted, know what I mean? She took it too far. Then she brought in the yuki-onna, and the wendigo, and they all started talking about how winter was too gentle now and how to change them back to being deadly and...it was too far."

Krampus paused, tossing his head. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, even if he wasn't sure yet where this was all heading. "As for how I got out...I was still with General Winter, so I guess the Snow Queen thought she still had her hooks in me. And then I got captured. I guess I'm not powerful enough for her to care that I was taken. Loyalty isn't big among that bunch, unless it's towards them."

Krampus sat back down in his chair, slumping against the backrest. "Why do you even care? It's not like she's going to...wait. Wait a minute," he said, eyes scanning the group, "Where's Frost?" he asked, sitting up in a rush.

There was a brief, heavy silence before Krampus' goatlike eyes widened. "He's why you're asking," he said faintly. "Tell me the Snow Queen doesn't have him. Did he go with her? Finally find out you were keeping things from him and run off?"

"He ran off but she took him against his will," Katherine said softly. "He needed time to think, and she took Jack while he was distracted."

Krampus muttered curses that were muffled as rubbed his face with clawed hands. "This is bad," he said finally, before looking up at North with calculating eyes. "If I tell you what I know..."

Pitch shifted, and Krampus' eyes darted over to him. The other spirits could almost see the calculations taking place. Yes, Pitch had been defeated by the Guardians during Easter of 2012, but he was here now, standing an equal footing with them. Was he still at a power low from that defeat, or was he regaining power already?

"Will be considered later, as we continue negotiations for Christmas," North said, oblivious to the byplay as usual.

"Right..." Krampus said slowly. "But the Snow Queen finds out I gave you insider information about her court, well, she's a lot meaner than you lot. Most of you," he changed that statement, glancing over Pitch, Loki, the other tricksters. "So good will's not going to go far unless she can't get at me after, if you catch my meaning."

"She kidnapped a Guardian," one of the Snegurochka piped up, hiding again at the back of the group as Krampus looked for her.

"He killed one, yet here he stands," Krampus said, tilting his head to indicate Pitch.

Sandy sent up a flurry of symbols, understood only by the Guardians and Pitch.

"Heh, you said it Sandy," Bunny said, rolling his eyes at the confused looks he got. "He said he got better. Look, the thing between us 'n Pitch is long 'n complicated. Th' thing wit' th' Snow Queen ain't. Ya don't kidnap folks, 'specially not ours."

Eyes glanced over at Pitch, who was holding himself ramrod straight and acting as though he weren't being discussed.

"Protection, then," Krampus said. "Good will later, when we're discussing Christmas, but more importantly protection from the Snow Queen if she finds out that I snitched."

North shrugged. "Should be easy enough so long as are down here," he pointed out. "Will be more difficult once you leave."

Krampus glowered at him. "The way you've been acting, I thought I was never leaving," he snapped.

"Tha's wha' happens when ya try an' take a spirit's holiday," Bunny snapped, already at the end of his patience.

"As fun as this is, you've got what you asked for," Pitch said, cutting in smoothly. "I don't want to deal with a Jack Frost that's been tainted by the Snow Queen, do you? So it's time for your part."

Krampus eyed Pitch again. There was a certain amount of respect granted to Pitch as the oldest of the Fear Spirits, the longest lasting, the most commonly known. As much as Pitch snarled about children not believing in him, about parents saying "There's no such thing as the Boogeyman," well, they wouldn't have to say that if there wasn't that small kernel of belief that something lurked in the dark – and that something was, and had always been, Pitch Black, despite attempts by newer urban legends to replace him.

The fears children had of the dark always traced back to the Nightmare King, and even at his lowest he, like the Guardians, was a spirit the rest tried to avoid.

Right now, he looked eerily like a stern parent, and Krampus decided this once he was outnumbered and sulking over his current imprisonment was going to get him nowhere.

"Right. Uh. Where...what did you want to know?"

"We have a way to track Jack, but we need to know where to start searching," Tooth broke in before North could say anything. "We need to know what sort of base the Snow Queen has. What the defenses are. What to expect once we're inside. What her Court is like. What powers does she have now. What she might be doing to Jack."

Krampus blinked a few times at her. "You'll have to repeat those as we go along," he said mildly. "She has a castle. What else would a Queen have? Humans can't see it unless she brings them there, of course. It's somewhere in Russia. I can't say where exactly, there aren't exactly landmarks and street numbers up in the tundra. But it's a castle in the middle of nowhere with a huge span of flat ground around it, it's a bit hard to miss."

The Guardians looked at each other in dismay. That was going to make an assault almost impossible, as someone was bound to see them coming.

"There's some underground passages, of course, but I'm not sure some of you could make it through them. They're dug into the ice, and they don't have a reason to warm them up," Krampus continued.

"Let us worry about tha'," Bunny said. Thor passed him a map, and Raven shoved the room's one table closer for him to spread it out on. "Just point 'em out an' tell us where they let out at."

* * *

The Snow Queen stroked the hair of her latest acquisition, noting as she did that he was growing colder. He was unlikely to last much longer. A pity, this one had lasted longer than most did.

Perhaps is was just as well it took so long for her to find Frost. If she timed it right, then he might be properly trained around the time this one finally wore out. And as the Spirit of Winter, Frost wouldn't wear out under the Winter magic that wove through the Court.

He was being stubborn, though. Little surprise. He had been left on his own for three hundred years, he would have to be more than a little stubborn to manage that without attaching himself to a more powerful spirit for protection.

Like those little Russian snow maidens had to Jack, rather than doing the proper thing and coming to the Winter Court. Foolish little things, they'd be more powerful by now if they had. Still, if Jack proved too stubborn, they might come in handy yet.

The isolation should be getting to him by now. While true that he'd had three hundred years to speak only to himself, he'd had a few years to taste constant interaction. Just long enough for the strangeness to wear off and to begin depending on it. Depriving him of it now was the most devastating thing she could do to bring him around at this point.

Make him see her as the only one he could depend on, and so many other unpleasant methods could be avoided.

He should have been chilled long enough. Time to so see if it had begun to freeze his heart, of it he would need another little pep talk.

Hope would keep his heart warm. Time to make sure there wasn't any left.

* * *

The Snow Queen swept through the halls of her palace. She could have traveled through the storm, but it was taxing at best. She still was recovering from bringing Jack here, though none could know. As far as any of them knew, she could do such a thing at a moment's notice, could watch them from the ice and see all they did within her realm.

She couldn't, but so long as they believed, perhaps someday it would be truth.

For now, the Snow Queen wanted to see the spirits who were her Court, her subjects, and see them bow before her as she made her way to the lower levels of the palace where she was keeping Frost.

Foolish little spirit...such power, and he wasted it on snowballs and designs in frost and playing with children, when he could have the world trembling at his feet. And the powers of Winter were his now too? A good thing the child still didn't know all the power available to him.

The association with the Guardians was just weakening him further. Winter couldn't have a warm heart. No seasonal spirit could, but Winter most of all.

He would be grateful, someday.

Finally, she reached the seemingly blank space of wall, so like to every other stretch of wall in the palace, with nothing to show it to be special.

Once, everyone knew the Snow Queen, and they knew that she lived in a palace made of ice, so it only made sense that she could change it as she willed. It burned that now she was only known as some soft little princess for children's stories, a sensation all the more painful for the cold that created her, but she would do what it what she could. And it seemed that princess could change ice and snow to make her own palace, so it made her power the stronger there.

Strong enough that it took little effort to made the ice shift for her, to create the heavy door, the solid blocks of ice forming its frame, as if it had always been there.

The Snow Queen opened the door and stepping inside, only to freeze as only a creature of the ice and snow could freeze.

It didn't stop the chaos, nor did closing and reopening her eyes make it disappear.

Rabbits, seemingly made of frost, frolicked about the room, nibbling at imaginary grass and chasing each other in circles. Birds swooped and dove, perching on every available surface, birds of all shapes and sizes, all translucent and white no matter their real colors. A fox darted out from under the bed and began playing with a set of rabbits, while a pair of cats slept on the bed itself.

And capering around the head of the bed where Jack himself perched, staff against his shoulder, were several transparent elves such as that fool North kept around for reasons only he knew, for they were certainly no use to anyone.

All of them were silent, unable to make sound, but their antics were chaotic enough without sound to more than compensate, and for the first time in centuries, the Snow Queen found herself at a loss for words.

* * *

Jack grinned as the Snow Queen stopped short inside the door she had created. It had taken a couple of hours, and, if he were honest with himself, would take little to undo, but it seemed making all these frost animals had been worth it.

He hadn't thought she could be that thrown off her game.

The Snow Queen scowled, and privately, though it was a terrifying expression, Jack still thought it was better than the emotionless mask that was her usual face.

It only took a moment for the Snow Queen to regain her composure. She batted at one of the birds that swooped too close to her, and Jack was surprised to see it dodge. Maybe Pitch hadn't been just blowing hot air when he said Jack was Winter now, and more powerful. The rabbit he'd made for Jamie that weekend hadn't lasted nearly as long as these had, and had burst into snow after barely a minute.

"Frost, dismiss your ridiculous creations at once," the Snow Queen said.

Jack smirked and released the frost bird he had been drawing on a pane of ice he had created to make these, the pigeon fluttering to join the rest of the frost flock.

It had kept him from thinking about things he needed to think about later, not now, and focused on his escape from here.

Okay, so he really didn't have a plan yet, but he was working on it. Sometimes his best plans came when he let his hands be busy and his mind wander.

And, well, there was little else to do here but keep his hands busy and mind wander, even if that could lead dangerously close to another panic attack if he let it drift too close to how trapped he was.

Focus on getting out, not on how trapped he was. Focus on the ice around him, no matter how nauseus it made him.

Focus on getting out of here, making the Winter Court sorry for messing with him, then go yell at the Guardians for awhile for forgetting to tell him everything, then go sulk in the Pole for awhile so no one else could try bothering him until he was done with a good sulk.

Then he could be mature and talk to them about it.

He just...had to get out of this first.

Irritating the Snow Queen was dangerous but right now it was worth it for the look on her face, especially as Jack released another cat to join the previous two. He and the cat stared at her with almost identical expressions before the cat stretched and jumped down to play with the rabbits.

The Snow Queen frowned at the animals playing at her feet, giving her no attention, and waved her hand.

Nothing happened.

Both Jack and the Snow Queen stared in disbelief at the frost animals, still frolicking about and ignoring the Snow Queen. Scowling, the Snow Queen waved her hand again, and the temperature dropped, enough that even Jack could feel it, his breath coming out in clouds.

The animals froze in place, their frost changing to ice, too cold to move.

Jack figured that was the end of that, as the Snow Queen smiled faintly and summoned up a throne like chair. She seated herself in it regally.

Then one of the rabbits cracked.

It moved, shaking its head and shoulders, coming free of the ice before bounding towards the bed and nuzzling against Jack before poofing into snow.

In twos and threes the rest of the animals followed as the Snow Queen sat, coldly solid as a statue of ice, her displeasure an icy frost riming her features.

Jack took notes silently and kept waiting. Not making a comment was harder than he'd ever imagined, and he wasn't going to last much longer.

* * *

An hour later, the Snow Queen sealed the wall behind her, fury making her uncomfortably warm.

She stalked the halls of her palace, seeking the cold, to smother the flames of fury and freeze them again into the arctic ice.

Frost was still mouthy and stubborn, still defiant and full of bright, sparkling warmth, too warm for a Winter spirit.

The Snow Queen reached the innermost room of the palace, where the ice was the thickest, the cold the deepest, and touched the wall to open her most inner sanctum.

If Frost was going to continue to be so stubborn, drastic measure were going to need to be taken.

Frost was a Winter spirit. He could handle it, unlike the fragile humans who had gone through it before.

It would be highly unpleasant and likely painful, but he would survive. And possibly thank her later for ridding him of that foolish warmth, so unnecessary for Winter.

She should have tried this from the beginning.


	42. Chapter 42

The Guardians had a plan, for what it was worth.

Krampus was again firmly locked up, and all of them on the way back up, this time to gather on the sleigh.

Pitch again rode the elevator with the Guardians, smirking faintly at the awkward air of the ride and enjoying himself, falling back into the shadows as the group marched towards the sleigh bay.

Everyone couldn't fit in the sleigh – not with Raven, Puck, Loki, Thor, Freya, and Cupid going along.

The bravest of the Snegurochka – Olwen, Eirwen, and Eirlys were also coming, though they doubted they could be of much help. Freya was going along because she was already ready to throw down over someone being kidnapped, add in all the people who were worried over him and she was chomping at the bit to get going.

Her brother was staying at the Pole. As a protector of women, no woman could be harmed in Freyr's presence, which could have been an asset...save that they were going to fight a woman, and the god of peace couldn't exactly turn that off. He and his wife, Gerd, would be waiting with Frigga, Aphrodite, and the Erotas to help pick up the pieces after it was all over.

Several kitsune, Coyote, and Anansi were to be the rear guard. Anansi in particular wanted to go along to save Jack, who had listened to his stories patiently and with interest many times in the previous three hundred years, but he was worried about the climate – he and Coyote were from warm, even hot climes, and were unused to weather so frigidly cold.

Not even spirits were immune to the cold or the heat in extreme temperatures unless it was their element, after all.

As it was, they were given snow globes and a crystal that would flash red if they were needed. To stand by and wait as those one cared about went into danger to save another they cared for was perhaps one of the most difficult tasks, but it was the one they had to take.

Katherine mounted up on Kailash, and Nightlight gave Eirlys a boost to perch behind Katherine. Baby Tooth, who was still upset she hadn't been there for Jack when he was taken, was clinging to Katherine's shoulder, refusing to be left behind or any more out of the action when her Jack was in trouble. Olwen and Eirwen clung gingerly to Freya's chariot, terrified of what lay ahead but unwilling to stay behind while their big brother, the only spirit who had cared about them for so long, was in danger they could maybe do something about.

Nightlight, Tooth, Sandy, and Raven prepared themselves to fly as Thor, Loki, Bunny, Puck, Cupid, and North piled into the sleigh, some more reluctantly than others.

North cracked the reins and they were off like a shot, no fancy acrobatics this time, simply speed as they rushed towards the ramp and took off, the flyers close behind.

North threw the snow globe and they all rushed for the portal and the fight to come.

And back in the Pole, Pitch slid into the shadows, a darker shadow himself with only his glowing eyes to find him by.

Then he closed his eyes and was gone.

* * *

Jack sat on the bed, a small, shimmering ball of snow shifting between his hands, a snowball filled with happy flakes whose glow grew the more he played with it. Idly Jack blew on it, making the ball glow brighter for a moment.

The frost animals had been fun, which had helped his mood, but apart from irritating the Snow Queen hadn't done much. Irritating someone didn't do much when they could leave and keep him locked in a small room, like a toy that wasn't behaving the way they wanted it to yet.

Being irritating wasn't much of a plan. Not when there was only one person he could annoy and, while he was annoying her despite her icy exterior (Jack had plenty of practice of knowing just when he was irritating someone no matter how they tried to hide it, and he was) it wasn't working this time, not to get her to let him go.

A shadow stretched out from under Jack's bed, quite the feat in a room without a discernible light source, where light seemed to come from everywhere, reflecting off the ice.

It looked as though it would stretch all the way to the wall, but paused to shudder and rapidly rose, forming into Pitch. Jack fumbled the snowball, glaring at Pitch for a split second for startling him. Pitch didn't notice as he glared at the wall of ice forming Jack's cell.

"All that darkness in the ice, and it's still so bright in here," he grumbled. "And such a cold, harsh light it is too..." He turned to look down at Jack, hands folded behind his back. "They're coming," he announced. "Don't look at me like that, you know exactly who I mean," he added when Jack didn't react. Pitch glanced around the room again, calculating. "You may want to try a bit harder to get out of here, unless you want them to fight their way to this room. Considering the spirits they'll have to get through to get here..."

Jack didn't need more than that to picture some of it. Tooth, for all she and her fairies could take the cold when going for a tooth, didn't linger. Bunny was spring, and more vulnerable to cold than some.

The Snow Queen hadn't come out and said it, but it was clear still how she felt about Spring, about spirits that brought it, about Bunny and his Easter and Spring and Hope.

The look on her face when anything warm was mentioned, be it physical or emotional or mental warmth...

Jack didn't want to think of what would happen if she got her ice on Bunny.

Pitch was still watching him as the thoughts flashed through Jack's mind. "How long do you think we have?" Jack asked as he slid off the bed, the snowball left on the bed as that hand dug into his pocket. His other hand stayed tight on his staff – he was still edgy about having Pitch around the branch for rather obvious reasons.

Pitch shrugged with light disdain. "I've no idea," he said. "Fast as wishes and hopes and dreams, I suppose," he added, as if that explained anything. "Now Frost, if you'll excuse me, I hear there's some little upstart spirits that need reminding of who exactly is still the Nightmare King hanging about."

"What, you're just gonna leave me here and not even pretend to help?" Jack asked, still rummaging in his pocket.

Pitch rolled his eyes dramatically. "Honestly Frost, I warned you, isn't that enough? Fine." He passed a hand through a section of the wall and the ice cleared somehow, and Pitch looked at his hand, rubbing the fingers together thoughtfully. "That should do it. All of the Snow Queen's evil right here," he said, spreading his fingers and making a small circle, something dark following the gesture, "and neutral ice there. The rest is for you."

With that, Pitch disappeared again into the shadows under the bed.

Jack watched for a moment, but Pitch didn't reappear. He stooped and glanced under the bed, but there was nothing to see but a skiff of snow and shadows.

Frowning, Jack stood and picked his snowball back up, storing it in his pocket. He walked over to the wall and looked closer at the section Pitch had touched.

It was clearer than the rest of the wall, and when Jack gingerly touched it, didn't feel like the Snow Queen's magic anymore. It wasn't gone, not completely, but the darkness, the fear, that was gone. It was just Winter magic now, without that edge of anger and terror and pain.

And Winter magic obeyed Jack, let him open a crack and slip through the ice without the least resistance.

* * *

Jack found himself in a blank hallway. It was carved out of yet more ice, which was not a surprise. He doubted anything in this place was created out of anything but snow and ice.

The featureless hallway didn't give Jack many options. He could go left, he could go right, or he could try making a doorway.

For all he knew, there were more little cells along this hall and he had no way to tell.

After a minute, Jack dug in his pocket, on the opposite side of the snowball so it wouldn't be crushed, and came up with a piece of string and a needle. Quickly he threaded the needle and tied the ends of the string together into a loop. Cupping the whole in his hands for a second, he blew on it gently. "The way out," he said. "I need to find the way out."

He dropped the needle, letting it dangle at the end of the string. It spun for a moment before beginning to swing, tugging in one direction. Jack followed it, pausing as he grew closer to the end of the hallway.

What if there had been other cells...?

Jack turned to look back, trying to think what to do, and saw the form of the Snow Queen approaching.

With a silent apology to anyone that might have been behind the walls, Jack turned and hurried out of the hall.

* * *

The palace was a labyrinth, and Jack was lost in seconds. His needle was no help – he needed to go slowly for it to work, and he'd heard the screech of rage, so similar to the roar of a blizzard's wind, that said his escape had been discovered, and had no time to go slow.

Someone had to have heard that – in this cold, silent building, the sound had carried, and the Court had to have heard, though what they would do was still a question. The Snow Queen inspired fear and devotion, but not loyalty that would come to her aid. But some could still come, in hopes of a good chase or a reward if they took care of whatever had caused her mask to break. Some might hold back for fear of being blamed for whatever had gone wrong, but Jack had a bad feeling more of them would come than would hide.

There was an explosion, and the palace shuddered with the sound, so loud against the deathly silence that had held the palace in its grip.

Jack flattened himself against the wall as action erupted around him, though none down this hallway. He could hear the hooves of the Nuckelavee on the floor above, the claws of the Nykur and Lupercus on the ice screeching down the halls as they raced to the explosion.

The hallway around Jack continued to shake and spikes of ice erupted from the other end of the hallway, filling it and flying down the hallway, filling it as they went. Jack backed away, staff raised, but the spikes stopped after they had filled a section of the hallway longer than Jack was tall, so thick even he might not be able to squeeze between them.

And from around the corner came the Snow Queen.

The ice crackled around her, temperature dropping so low so fast the ice couldn't keep up. It formed crystals as she passed, sharp and dangerous, and her eyes were colder than glacial ice as she pinned Jack with that stare.

"There you are, Frostling," she said, her mouth stretching into a parody of a smile. "The little games are over. Be a good boy for Mother now."

* * *

Bunny threw another egg bomb, staining the ice of the palace with bright bursts of color.

They were the loudest attack any of them had, and it covered the three Snegurochka searching for the secret passages into the palace Krampus had assured them existed.

Plus, Bunny was getting a bit of a thrill from covering the stark walls of the place with a patchwork of color. Even the pastels looked neon bright against the frozen backdrop of white ice walls, pure white snow, white as far as the eye could see.

Bunny raised his arm to pitch another egg when the doors opened, and a pair of wendigo stepped through the door, followed by four yuki-onna.

The front guard, Bunny thought. The ones the Snow Queen thought of as expendable.

Not that he thought anything like that, but sometimes it was all to easy to figure out how someone like the Snow Queen thought.

Yuki-onna used to be populous, for Winter spirits, and not all that powerful. Wendigo were more powerful, but driven by hunger, not intellect.

Freya, Thor, and Loki stepped forward, and Bunny fell back. He didn't like leaving them outnumbered, but both had been sure they could handle this...besides, Puck, Cupid, and Raven were waiting overhead to join the frontal assault.

Bunny glanced back as he tapped open a tunnel and saw one of the Wendigo topple, saw a yuki-onna go flying, and felt quite a bit better about hurrying to join the rest.

It wasn't much of a plan, but a frontal assault while a second group broke in and looked for Jack was about the best they could come up with.

He popped up behind the palace, where the Snegurochka were waiting to take them through the secret tunnel they'd found, and wished it would be warmer inside.

There wasn't a flower's chance in the arctic it would be, but he dealt in hope.

* * *

Pitch slipped into a shadow in the throne room, looking around the room curiously. There were quite a few spirits here despite the Snow Queen's absence, almost as if they weren't sure what to do with themselves without her orders.

Or maybe it was simply that, with Frost in charge of Winter now, they weren't as necessary and preferred to stay here rather than face that fact.

Explosions rocked the room, and Pitch was torn between amusement and irritation. Let someone else feel the results of the Guardians' sexual and romantic frustration, for once...but the timing left something to be desired.

Or perhaps not, as the spirits inside were thrown into confusion, and Pitch took note of where his targets ran off to.

Time to show these little upstarts what happened when they messed with the King of Nightmares and his spirits.

* * *

Jack and the Snow Queen stood, staring at each other. Jack could feel the spikes pressing into his back, ice that wasn't going to obey him and was sharp and strong as steel.

The Snow Queen was holding something, and Jack really, really didn't want to find out what it was. She was also blocking the only way out of this hallway.

"You've been very naughty, Frostling, leaving your room without permission," the Snow Queen said, advancing on Jack. "I wanted to change your mind. I wanted this to be without resorting to this magic. But we're out of time, my little prince, and you're too stubborn for your own good."

Jack would have backed away more, but the spike dug that much deeper into his back as he involuntarily leaned away from her advance.

There was an ominous crunch, and more spikes shot out from the wall, from behind Jack, pinning Jack against the spikes that pressed against his back, unable to lift his staff, caging him in, unable to squirm away.

"I cannot risk you losing memory of how to use your powers," the Snow Queen mused as she glided towards Jack, slow and smooth across the ice, "so I cannot Kiss you. So we must resort to...cruder options," she continued, holding up her hand.

Jack struggled harder as he saw the glint in her hand.

"The mirror is long gone," the Snow Queen mused, looking at the shards in her hand, "and none of its glass remains. But ice is so much better, isn't it? Already so perfectly cold, it takes my magic better than the glass ever could. Now stay still, Frostling," she said, looking to Jack. "The more you fight, the more it will hurt."

She gripped Jack's chin in one frozen hand, her grip solid and unyielding. "And this is going to hurt, little Frost," she added. "Don't be afraid to scream."

Despite Jack's determination not to give the Snow Queen what she wanted, a few seconds later, the halls did ring with his scream.

* * *

A/N: ...apparently I'm still an evil author that can't keep to pure fluff if it's a long fic even when she wants to.


	43. Chapter 43

Jack's scream echoed through the halls, halls designed to carry and amplify the slightest noise, to make the continual silence feel that much more oppressive.

Baby Tooth, still perched on Katherine's shoulder, gave a little scream of her own and was off like a shot. The rest of them followed, pounding down the frozen hallways, giving up on stealth.

They were too brightly colored, too warm and alive, for it to have worked for long anyway.

Baby Tooth sped through the halls, too small, too fast to catch, following the feeling of Jack, her Jack, in pain and scared and he needs us hurry hurry _hurry_.

They group of them pounded through the halls, throwing spirits that gone in their way against walls, into rooms, whatever was closest.

And then they screeched to a halt behind the hovering Baby Tooth.

A group of spirits blocked their way. Raw Head Bloody Bones, Bloody Mary, and Jenny Greenteeth clustered around a bent old man with icicles scattered in his hair and lining his clothing, a spirit weakened by lack of belief but whose name was still invoked often enough to keep him from fading away.

Old Man Winter.

A pair of white, emaciated wolves flanked Old Man Winter, and at a word from him they lunged toward the group.

Bunny screamed and dodged as the first wolf snapped at him, teeth coming down inches from his leg. Tooth and North lunged at it, swords drawn, as the Snegurochka screamed, dodging along with Bunny.

There were shouts from behind them, the distinctive roar of Thor on the hunt, and Bunny dodged faster, off walls and ceiling, as the wolves ignored Tooth and North and focused on the delicious rabbit.

He just had to hold out until someone got them.

The three urban legend spirits were laughing, laughing still as a shadow appeared behind them, growing taller and taller until he filled the hallway.

And Eirlys stepped between the wolves and Bunny. She slapped the closer one on the snout, snowflakes bursting from the contact. "You stop that!" she snapped in her quiet voice as the wolves paused in confusion. "He's Jack's! Be nice! Jack's the one that feeds you, remember? Whenever he can get close to you? Jack's nice to you! He combed your fur and fed you and played with you!"

The wolves paused. They were not as intelligent as a human spirit, but they were much more intelligent than even regular wolves, enough to understand what Eirlys was saying, much like small children.

They put their ears back and whined, looking between Eirlys and Old Man Winter.

There was another scream, echoing along the hallway, less of pain now and more of despair, of fear, and the wolves whined again before flanking the Guardians and growling at Old Man Winter.

He looked at them, at the Guardians who were reassembling themselves, still breathing hard from the scare but not backing down, at the spirits running down the hall to their aid, and smiled.

Old Man Winter smiled, bowed slightly, and moved aside.

The trio of urban legend spirits cried out in dismay, yelling abuse at him, only to freeze as Pitch's silky voice rang out from above, a call of, "Hello, little upstarts," spinning to find him behind them.

He grinned, full of sharp teeth and menace. "Boo," he said, and the cries of dismay were full of fear as they broke and ran.

Still grinning, Pitch took to the shadows and gave chase.

The group looked at each other, at the wolves, at Old Man Winter, at the hall Pitch had gone down, collectively shrugged, and followed the scream.

* * *

Jack could feel the cold spreading through his body, from the place on his chest where the ice had sunk into his skin, leaving no wound behind to show what had happened, though it hurt as though he had been stabbed to the heart.

Which, in a way, was exactly what had happened.

The ones for his eyes had been small, small enough that though they hurt, it had faded, like getting a speck of dust caught in the eye, which made sense as they had been the ones meant to fly through the air and infect the unsuspecting.

It was like ice, spreading through his body, creeping towards his heart. If it got to his heart...

Already the ones in his eyes were twisting what he saw.

Automatically, he thought of the Guardians, of rescue. And felt the ice start to twist the thoughts and memories.

Why didn't they come? _Because they were using you_ , the ice said. _Look how they didn't say anything about the marriage until someone else outed them._

 _Did they ever care? Why would they, when they got what they wanted without having to give in return._

They were variations thoughts he'd had before, but amplified, crueler, digging deeper and pulling it all out, twisting each thing they had done for him and putting it in the worst possible light.

" _They forget other people don't know things,"_ Nightlight's voice echoed in his head, the first and only time he had heard Nightlight speak with words. _"_ _And then things get more and more awkward."_

 _They still should have told you_ , the voice that was nasty, wasn't Jack's but was, was the ice, hissed. _It wouldn't have been 'so awkward' if they'd told you earlier._

Suddenly Jack was wracked with pain and he screamed again, pain and despair mingling as the ice seemed to reach something deep inside, not something physical but something deeper, something more essential to his very being.

His Center.

* * *

The Snow Queen watched as Jack hung in the grip of her ice spikes, only held up by their grip.

He'd been silent since that first scream, save for soft 'no's slipping past his lips at odd intervals.

It seemed to be working nicely, though it was taking much longer to freeze Jack's heart and make him see things her way than she had anticipated.

Oh well, Jack was a stubborn young man, given to doing things his own way for three hundred years. He hardly would have lasted if he hadn't been. And he'd been holding onto hope for that long, too. A spirit would take longer than a mortal, and with all that stubborn hope, no wonder it was taking so long.

Hope was such an irritating thing. So hard to kill, and with a most irritating tendency to rekindle at the slightest little reason, so warm and so hard for her ice to snuff out.

How much longer this would take once that last bit of hope was twisted into despair was still in question. Fun could take many forms and would be easy to warp into proper Winter attitudes, but Joy, Joy was nearly as bad as Hope was.

She'd been very careful in how she inserted the shards – it wouldn't do for them to fall out because he struggled so, after all. A human it would have infected more quickly, turning whatever they had been looking at into something warped. But he'd stubbornly kept his eyes closed ever since she'd finished, and that was making it slower still.

Strange, that a Winter spirit, one who even now was the main Spirit of Winter, would be so warm that her shards were even necessary.

The only sound now was Jack's harsh breaths. Just as she liked it.

The Snow Queen stepped closer to Jack, running a hand down his unresponsive cheek. "Shhh, it'll all be over soon," she cooed, sickeningly sweet. "Don't fight it so, Frostling. You're just making it harder on yourself. That's right, let the cold have you, the way it always was meant to. You're going to be my masterwork, my little Winter Prince."

Jack threw back his head and screamed.

* * *

The group flew through the hallways, hearing behind them the screams as Pitch hunted the urban legends.

They weren't sure what was making Pitch cooperate, but they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, not while Jack was in danger and questioning it would leave him in danger that much longer.

If that scream was anything to go by, they were running out of time.

Baby Tooth was again on point, following the feel of Jack, though corridors and hallways deeper and deeper into the palace, featureless and blank hallways that seemed to have no rooms leading from them and no end, no indication of which way to go.

Then they turned a corner and there stood the Snow Queen, her back to them, in front of a wall of spikes of ice that jutted out every which way.

She turned to look at them, and revealed Jack, trapped in the wall, head down and breathing hard, staff trembling in his hand.

The Snow Queen looked at them blankly, as if she could not believe their audacity, to be here in her palace. Then a smile spread over her face, a smile cold and sharp as a freshly sharpened blade on a frozen winter's morning.

"So you did come," she said, faintly mocking. "I didn't think you actually would. Oh, but what a pity about the timing. Too late to do anything, yet too soon for it to be a truly effective reveal. Really, of your many flaws, that could possibly be the most irritating."

Her eyes flickered over the group, and the smile grew a fraction. "Oh, I see you brought some little friends with you. How ever did you get those wolves away from Old Man Winter? And Loki, you've returned to us!" she said, opening her arms as if in welcome.

Loki snarled and went to cast something, only to stop with a jolt.

Anything they threw at the Snow Queen was almost certain to catch Jack in it, and she knew it, if the faint smile she was gracing them with was anything to go by, knew very well that was why Loki had stopped short.

"I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish at this point," she said, reaching over to caress Jack's cheek, seeming to ignore the reactions it gained her even as her smile was a touch more smug, showing she knew very well what she was doing.

"What have you done," Tooth demanded, her swords, like North's, held low and at the ready.

"He is a stubborn one, isn't he?" the Snow Queen said, gripping Jack's chin between two fingers and raising his face.

Hands tightened on weapons at the tears on Jack's face, the faintest traces of blood still bright against the paleness of his skin.

"So very stubborn," the Snow Queen mused. "I'm afraid I had to take drastic measures to change his mind. His...way of seeing things, if you will."

"The shards," Bunny breathed. "I thought those were all destroyed!" he snapped in fury.

"Oh, they were," the Snow Queen said smugly. "But what sort of Queen would I be if that were all it took to stop me? It takes too much heat to make glass, and ice is so much more obedient to my will," she said, a few shards forming in her free hand as she spoke. "It takes time to infuse it with the magic, but it's well worth the effort."

"You..." Bunny snarled, cut off when Jack made a quiet whimper.

"Oh, it shouldn't take much longer now," the Snow Queen said with pleasure. She turned Jack's face toward the Guardians and his friends, still holding him tightly enough to dimple his cheeks. "Go on, Frostling. Open your eyes and see who's come to rescue you."

Jack squeezed his eyes shut tighter, a few tears leaking out, and the Snow Queen looked at him coldly.

She released his chin to grasp his hair, pulling his head harshly. "You will learn to obey me. You'll even learn to like it, soon," she said. "I..."

She was cut off and forced to release Jack's hair, to jump back, as a boomerang sliced through the air where her arm had been a second before, missing Jack easily as it curved back to Bunny.

She yelped in pain a moment later, an unnatural sound from her, and swatted at Baby Tooth, who had stabbed her hand with her sharp little beak. Baby Tooth dodged and flitted away to hide, no one seeing her as she hid in Jack's hood.

"That does hurt, doesn't it?" Pitch asked mockingly from the shadows, materializing near the Guardians and their silent entourage. "Believe me, I know," he added, flicking away a bit of denim. "Oh, your little Court won't be coming to help," he added with a grin. "They were delicious, though. All those fears and petty little hatreds..."

Everyone was looking at Pitch oddly by then, giving him quite a bit of side-eye, which he was both seemingly ignoring and enjoying like a cat in sunlight.

The Snow Queen drew herself up, frosty and dignified, her eyes flashing ice cold fire as she nursed her injured hand.

The two sides stared at each other in silent fury, each waiting for the other to make a move and knowing the clock was ticking down on how much longer Jack could hold out.

* * *

Jack could hear the Guardians. They came for him, just as he'd once thought they would.

 _They put too much effort into softening me up not to come, can't find another sap to deceive with my power,_ came the thought.

No, that was a shards thought, he couldn't...but it sounded so real, so like so many of the thoughts he'd had back when they'd first found each other _and they'd lied, they hadn't told him what he needed to know, they'd expected him to be happy when he found out but they'd kept secrets what else was a secret?_

He refused to open his eyes. Who knew what he would see when he did? The shards twisted what a person saw, made the beautiful ugly and the ugly beautiful, and angry as he'd been he didn't want to look at them and see something twisted.

The cold was still creeping in, and he felt frozen.

He, Jack Frost, who could walk barefoot on ice and not feel a chill, who could stand in the cold of the Arctic without a shiver, was frozen.

Something deep inside was being frozen over as well, and the more it did, the more Jack felt disconnected from himself, from what was happening, from the care that it was and the need to fight.

The more it happened, the less he felt like Jack Frost.

The place where the Snow Queen had driven the ice shard into his heart had already healed but it still throbbed with cold.

And the numbness was spreading.

He heard Baby Tooth chirping, heard the Snow Queen's cry of pain, but the pride that rose at her bravery was dulled, not the fierce pride he knew it should have been, and he knew he was losing.

 _Maybe it was for the best_ , the shard whispered, mingling with his own thoughts. _All those years of pain...was it really worth it? Better to be numb, then the lies wouldn't hurt anymore._

Even the pain of the ice spreading to his center was going numb, and Jack felt as if he were drowning again, but no one was coming to pull him up this time.

And he didn't have the strength anymore to keep his head above the water.


	44. Chapter 44

The ice holding Jack up cracked, and he sagged.

Then it shattered, spraying shards of ice across the hall. Jack fell to his knees, balanced there for precious seconds before he collapsed fully to the floor like a rag doll, a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The Guardians and Jack's friends cried out, surging forward, only to be stopped short by the wall of ice the Snow Queen threw between them, and they saw what happened next through a sheet of ice clear as glass.

She looked down smugly at Jack as he began to lever himself to his hands and knees, pausing there as if the effort had been painful.

Slowly, so slowly, he sat back on his heels, his head down and eyes hidden by his bangs.

Then he opened his eyes, and they were cold, cold and hard and they looked over the Guardians and his friends with a frozen disdain they hadn't thought Jack capable of, a look of cold blankness that cared for nothing and no one.

Beside Jack, the Snow Queen was gloating. "Now, they came to take you away," she said, laying a hand on Jack's hair. "Show them what happens to people who try that, my Prince!" she commanded, and the wall of ice fell, shattering on the floor.

Jack looked up at her with the same look of blank uncaring and didn't move.

"It will be fun," she urged. "Go on, little Prince."

"Fun?" Jack repeated, and his voice was like a blow, so dead, so lifeless, so void of the bright personality that was Jack Frost even at his lowest, monotone and blank. "I cannot have fun. You froze my center. I feel nothing. Why should I care why they came? Why should I care where I am?"

The Snow Queen frowned, pulling her hand back.

"That's can't be right," she said quietly, almost to herself. "It's supposed to twist emotions, not freeze them entirely..."

"Then you did it wrong," Jack said flatly. He pushed himself to his feet, his staff clicking softly on the floor. "I'm leaving now."

"I forbid it!" the Snow Queen snapped, reaching for Jack's arm. She was shoved away by a blast of frigid air, stumbling over the shards of the ice spears she had used to trap Jack.

Jack's eyes were sharp now, no longer empty, as he looked at his former captor. "I don't have any reason to listen to you. You no longer have any power over me. I hold back so I don't hurt anyone. I don't care anymore, so I won't now. I am leaving, and I no longer have any limits on myself. You have no say in this."

He looked over at the Guardians, as if just now remembering that they were there. His eyes were still cold, cold enough that they took a step back, away from that look, a look that felt like plunging into icy water and feeling it close over your head.

Then they rallied, stepping closer. Jack backed away, still watching them coldly, dodging the Snow Queen when she reached for him. The wall of ice he threw up between them threw her off her feet, crueler than Jack had been before, a quick wall that shoved her away and disappeared just as quickly.

"You are the cause of all this, don't try and bring me back into it," he snarled.

"Jack," Tooth called softly. He glanced over at her but averted his eyes after the briefest of glances, and hope surged among the group. Did he refuse to look because he hated them...or because seeing them distorted by the shards was painful?

"Don't," Jack said, soft but sharp. "Don't try and work your memory magic on me now, Toothiana. No matter how happy they were at the time, they'll just be twisted and ugly now. It's already happened to the memory of how I became a Guardian." He turned away from them, gesturing sharply at the remaining spears of ice that had held him captive so recently, the ones that hadn't already fallen but still blocked the hallway.

It tinkled and cracked, hairline fractures spreading through them all from that single point where Jack stood, before shattering and falling to the ground.

"Just go," Jack said, not turning to look at them. "There's nothing you can do now. What I felt for you is too complicated to change what's happened now. We'll all be better off if you just drop it. Nobody will notice I'm gone. I'm just Jack Frost."

"Bugger to that!" Bunny snapped. Two leaps had him in front of Jack, grabbing onto his shoulders and ignoring the frost that immediately crawled onto his fur. "We're not giving up on you, don't you dare give up on us," he growled, up close to Jack's face.

Hope tried to bloom in Jack's chest, sputtering and weak against the bitter, bitter cold of the shard.

Jack closed his eyes, refusing to look into those eyes. The shard was trying to warp what he saw, to change what he knew to be the spring green of new leaves into the malevolent green of poison, and even with his heart frozen he didn't want to see it.

Bunny let go with a cry of pain and Jack opened his eyes to see Bunny collapsed against the far wall, ice in his fur, and turned to see the Snow Queen behind him, hand outstretched towards where Bunny was crumpled on the floor.

Icy rage filled him, stronger than anger he'd ever felt before, strengthened and changed by the shard still digging into his heart painfully, ice that changed Fun and Joy to Despair and Pain, from Fun that was meant to be shared to something cruel that made his center writhe with pain.

Much as he was furious with the Guardians, an anger the shard was trying to twist into poison, there was still love buried deep, love the shard wanted to warp into possessiveness, and with that he struck out at the Snow Queen, sending her flying across the hall with the blast of ice.

The Snow Queen had been taken down more in these few minutes since Jack had stood than she had ever been hit before in her life, no matter the battle, and already she was fuming, the ice around her clouding in her fury as Jack aimed his staff.

When Tooth darted forward she nearly was blasted as well, since although Jack could still tell friend from foe, he wasn't feeling very friendly towards anyone at the moment.

"Jack, no!" she cried. Jack scowled. No one told him no, the shard whispered. He raised his staff and Tooth caught it on the blunt sides of her sabers. "Not like this!" She grunted as Jack pulled his staff free, catching her with the crook and tossing her to the side – much gentler than Bunny had been thrown, but still shoved aside.

Bunny caught her, not fully recovered but getting there quickly, and they both looked up at Jack as he pointed the staff at Tooth, eyes cold and hard. "Three hundred years," he said. "Three hundred years, and I was left alone. And now you claim you want me, but first you have to lie to me. How long? How long would you have kept lying if this hadn't happened?"

The staff was drawn back, returned to its position at Jack's side. He glared at the Snow Queen, who had made her way to her feet with the aid of the wall while Jack was distracted by Tooth.

"And you!" he said, the staff swinging around now to point again at the Snow Queen. "Waiting until someone else noticed me to make your move. Never even knew I existed, did you? Not worth the effort until I had something to lose. I'm not your Snow Prince, and no shards are going to change that."

He paused, and smirked. "Didn't work out how you thought it would, did it? Thought it would make me want cruel fun like yours, but you froze my center. You _froze._ My _center._ I don't think I can have fun anymore, and who is Jack Frost without fun?"

One of the Snegurochka began crying, quietly, her sisters silently joining in. Jack stopped short, looking at them, drawing quick, short breaths, the hand on his staff shaking before he looked away, tearing his eyes away from them.

Only to find Baby Tooth staring up at him, eyes wide and filled with tears of her own.

Jack took a step back, as though the tiny fairy were as dangerous as the Snow Queen. She fluttered after him, hands clasped and chirping fretfully.

"Baby Tooth..." Jack said softly, almost pleadingly. Seeing her like this felt like an ember sparking to life in his chest, so hot it was painful against the frigid ice of the shard.

Baby Tooth chirped again, still distressed, still pleading, and fluttered up to hug Jack's cheek, nuzzling against him.

Slowly Jack's hand came up to cradle Baby Tooth, shaking as the ice and love fought, the little ember flaring up against the cold of the Snow Queen's magic as bravely as the little fairy he cradled in his hands. "Baby Tooth..." he said again.

She chirped sadly, pleadingly, and stretched to kiss his eye, her own tears falling over the closed lid, and squirmed free far enough to repeat her kiss to his other eye.

Jack kept his eyes closed as Baby Tooth slid down to cuddle against his chest, still chirping miserably and clutching at his hoodie. His eyes burned where her tears had landed, and they were filling with tears – and he could feel it as her tears, filled with love and worry for him, began to melt the shards distorting his vision.

One hand cradled Baby Tooth against his chest while the other came up to scrub at his face as he took shuddery breath after breath as that ember burst into flame, the love he'd kept close, waiting to be showered on someone, desperate to be free and given freely and without hesitation to Baby Tooth, with no complications like the feelings he had for the Guardians, too hot and strong in the face of her distress to be frozen any longer by the Snow Queen's cruel spurning of any softer emotion.

"Baby Tooth," he repeated, "I... _Rani_ , I...I'm so sorry, sweetheart, don't cry, please don't cry Rani, _I love you_ ," he burst, collapsing to his knees. "I love you, I love you!"

Baby Tooth squealed with joy, chirping more and more, the chirps unmistakable _I love you_ s back to Jack, who had brought her up to his face to hold her close.

It was as if the color came back to Jack, all in a rush, and none of them had even realized how they had been muted, the change had been so subtle, so slow, that it took the color rushing back to his cheeks, the sparkle and blueness to his eyes when he finally opened them, for them to realize it.

Jack reached for Bunny, groping blindly in his direction, unwilling to take his eyes from Baby Tooth.

Bunny slid over, pulled into a hug by Jack, who buried his face in Bunny's ruff. "I'm still so mad at you," Jack said, muffled by fur. "Really mad. But I need a hug. And therapy. But mostly a hug. So get in here."

Bunny's arms wrapped around him, warm and solid and soft, and Jack felt the last of the illusions forced on him by the shards melt away under the reality of Bunny, the reality of soft, warm fur and strong arms.

Even if he was furious with all of them, Jack still loved them.

"Jack..." Bunny started to say, hushed by Jack.

"Talk later. Hug now."

Behind them, the Snow Queen gave a screech of rage, the first full break of her mask Jack had heard.

He raised his head in time to see her draw back her hand, filled with tiny shards of ice, and fling them towards him and Bunny.

The Snow Queen flung her handful of shards at Jack, some of which were small as a grain of sand, any of which could begin freezing his heart, twisting his vision, making him like her.

If one didn't work, didn't last, perhaps a dozen would. He could melt the one in his heart with his love for the pitiful little fairy, she could melt the one in his eye, but they couldn't melt all of these.

Without thinking Jack flung back happy flakes, hundreds of them, a wall of joy that countered each of her shards with a small flash as they connected, the space between them filled with blue firecracker snaps and flashes. He'd come too close once to being like her forever, never again, he never wanted to feel that numb and empty ever again!

The Snow Queen cried out, shielding her face from the burst of color. Loki and Thor, Puck and Raven, darted forward in pairs for the attack. Raven and Loki struck silently while Puck and Thor let out war cries, furious over the close call they had all suffered for Jack.

The Snow Queen sent a furious blast of wind and snow their way, forcing them to plant their feet and brace against the wind or risk being blown away.

And Freya struck from behind while the Snow Queen was distracted, while she was still blasting the other four and gloating over it.

The Snow Queen hit the floor and skidded, sitting up and glaring at Freya, who crouched with her sword at the ready and a grin on her face, blood up and ready for the fight. Jack wasn't trapped any more, wasn't in her power and was ready to fight, they could finally go after the Snow Queen for real.

Bunny's arms tightened around Jack. "Let's get out of here," he said, muscles bunching to tap open a hole.

"No!" Jack said, pushing himself free. "I'm done with running from her or letting her control me. Here," he gently untangled Baby Tooth from his hoodie, pressing a gentle kiss to her head before placing her in Bunny's hands. "You should go, it's too cold for you here."

"Not leavin' without you, mate," Bunny said, pressing Baby Tooth close to his ruff to keep her warm.

"Then I'll have to make this quick," Jack said coldly, raising his staff.

"Jack," Bunny said quickly, before Jack could finish the first step, reaching out.

The look Jack gave him let Bunny know clearly that, while Jack was happy and relieved to see them, still loved them and wanted to talk, he was also still angry.

Bunny swallowed but spoke anyway. "Careful, snowflake. Don't do something you'll regret."

Jack nodded shortly.

There was a crash, and they both looked up to find the hallway nearly empty, with the Snegurochka left behind, Old Man Winter's Wolves still flanking them protectively.

"They were fighting while you were talking," Olwen said, her hands clasped anxiously in front of her. "The Snow Queen, she tore a hole in the ceiling, she led them away, I think it was too crowded here, she couldn't bring the snow and ice to fight like she could upstairs. Not without bringing this whole place down on us all."

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked, turning to Bunny. "You aren't made for this weather, you didn't even bring a coat!"

"It's better, near you, which sounds like I'm bein' sappy," Bunny said, rising to his feet, "but I'm not."

"Well, I can make people more comfortable in the cold, but you'd still better watch it," Jack said, craning his neck to look down the hallway. "It doesn't put off the consequences of being in the cold off forever. Which way did they go?"

"I think they'd head for the throne room, it's where she's got a lot of magic stored," Eirwen said immediately. "You gonna kick her ass, big brother?"

Jack's grin was more than a touch feral. "Gonna do my best, little sister. Come on, let's have some fun!"


	45. Chapter 45

The throne room was already half destroyed by the time they got there. Sand, both black and gold, was trapped in spikes of ice that thrust violently around the room, though they still looked different from the one Jack and Pitch had created in the Arctic.

It was the ice, Jack decided after a glance at it. This ice had none of the sparkle that his had, and too much menace. Clear still, but dull still, the harsh ice of a long, unforgiving winter.

He tore his eyes away from the spears of ice to the action. The Snow Queen had taken up position by her throne, and though it looked like she was cornered, Jack had spent too much time with her already to believe that.

The other thing that was still hard to believe was that Pitch was still here, and fighting alongside the rest. It made no sense. The urban myth spirits were gone, though what exactly had happened to them and where they were Jack didn't know, (and wasn't sure he wanted to know) and the Guardians and Pitch had some weird feud thing going on that had been going on for centuries now, so there was no real reason for Pitch to still be here.

Yet there he was, waving that ridiculous scythe around like it was an actual weapon and not the awkward thing it was, flinging sand about when the opening arose. Then again, when the scythe was combined with Sandy's whips and the nightmare with the dream sand, it seemed to be doing some sort of decent damage against the ice the Snow Queen was throwing at them.

They seemed to be doing about the best, along with Cupid and his arrows, Nightlight and the beams of light that came from the crystal topping his spear, as most of their attacks were from a distance. But most of the fighters depended upon close hand-to-hand fighting, and the Snow Queen seemed to have no interest in allowing them that close.

Katherine was crouched against the wall behind a pillar, shooting off spell after spell, unable to do more than that. She was the calming force, the one that could talk everyone around, not the fighter, and was keeping out of the way of the battle. Her spells now were for healing and protection, and not unwanted.

The Snow Queen was having no trouble attacking from a distance, and though she preferred the up close and personal approach when it came to Jack, it seemed she was willing to forgo that if it meant getting a Guardian on her side, and the shards, some so tiny they were only visible as a speck of light, flew about the room as easily as snowflakes.

Tooth cried out, dropping to the ground, her hands going to her eyes, covered by North and Puck as Katherine scrambled out of hiding, sliding across the floor to Tooth. Katherine kissed Tooth's face as Tooth's eyes flashed gold, love and warmth melting the tiny, tiny speck of ice before it could do damage.

And Jack saw red.

Outside, the clouds gathered, as responsive to Jack's moods as ever.

The wind kicked up, and the Snow Queen stretched out her arms triumphantly, as if it were to her call that they came, and Jack darted in front of the rest of them, the Guardians and his friends.

"Toothie, are you okay?" he called back over his shoulder.

Tooth took a second to look around, to look at Bunny, at Jack, before she nodded.

"For now, she is," the Snow Queen announced, looking down at Jack, standing before the dais her throne stood on. "But don't worry, that won't last long." She held up her hands, the last of her shards crushed to specks that swirled around her hands like the sand that flowed around Sandy and Pitch. "Once you're all seeing things my way, then none of you can melt the heart of another."

Jack spun back to face her as outside the wind howled fiercer, the snow falling thicker as he snarled.

And they all jumped as a roar of thunder shook the palace.

Heads whipped towards the tall set of windows behind the throne, the windows that had looked over a barren wasteland of snow, a wasteland that couldn't be seen anymore under the thick, roiling clouds and the nearly solid sheet of snow pummeling the ground.

"Jack, did you just..." Thor began to ask.

"Of course he didn't!" the Snow Queen snapped, spinning to glare at Jack as one would a disobedient puppy.

"Of course I did!" Jack countered, bouncing in place. "I dunno how I...did I..."

Another crack of thunder from outside had Jack letting out a whoop. "Yes! I did that!" he crowed, distracted for a moment from the battle, and the rest stared at him.

If the way he'd fought the shards hadn't already been proof enough, here was again proof that Jack was far more powerful than anyone had thought – and he had no idea. No idea that he was more powerful than a 'weather phenom', as some called him, should have been. No idea that he was more powerful even than some of the other Seasonal Spirits, than the previous Spirit of Winter.

Jack's celebration was over quickly, and he was back to Serious Mode, one they all rarely saw activated.

But as scary as it could be, it was nothing compared to the emotionless Jack of only a few minutes earlier, and they would take it gladly.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else," Jack said grimly. "She's been hurting kids," he said over his shoulder to the other Guardians, without taking his eyes off the Snow Queen. "A kiss to make them immune to the cold, and a second to make them forget everything from before she took them. The third is for when she's tired of them."

Hands tightened on weapons, the added information stoking already high protectiveness and anger higher still.

The Snow Queen tilted her head, looking down at them superciliously. "What does it matter to you?" she asked. "I am not part of your alliance. Your rules do not apply to me. I am of Winter, a Queen of Winter, and I answer to no one."

Jack smirked. "You keep saying I'm the Spirit of Winter," Jack pointed out. "Doesn't that mean I outrank you now?"

The Snow Queen stiffened, anger frosting her clothing, her face going so still it was as though she peered through a mask. "You forget yourself," she said coldly. "I am far older than you, child, and you shall never outrank me."

"Well, if we're going by age, then Sandy, Pitch, and Bunny are going to have to battle it out," Jack said, still smirking. "If any of the old men are up to it."

He didn't take his eyes off the Snow Queen to see how any of them reacted to that tease.

It was how he saw her expression shift and reacted, their blasts meeting in the center of the room.

Sparks flew, the whole of the throne room lighting up from the power pulsing between the two Winter spirits, the power throwing strange shadows dancing across the walls as it flared and crackled, live and deadly and bright as electricity.

Silently, with gritted teeth, the two fought, eyes locked on each other. The light grew brighter and brighter, and those who stood with Jack had to back away, shielding their eyes from the light.

Baby Tooth huddled in Jack's hoodie, a bright spot of warmth and softness against his neck as she buried her face in his hair, refusing to let go or leave him again.

Fury overtook Jack. Again and again the Snow Queen had threatened him, had threatened the children, kidnapped and killed them, and now she threatened and had nearly taken one of the few spirits that he cared about and who, despite lying to him, did care about him.

He whipped their power to the side, and they were so entangled that hers went with his, destroying a large section of the wall, leaving it frozen and jagged.

The Snow Queen glared at Jack, chest and shoulders heaving as she panted for breath.

Jack, on the other hand, wasn't even winded, and that fact seemed to infuriate her all the more.

She slowly straightened, watching Jack and his staff, which he kept leveled at her, warily.

Her eyes were drawn to Baby Tooth, who was still more green than blue, still more her mother's daughter than Jack's, and her eyes narrowed.

"Such a small thing," she said, "to break my spell. Inappropriate companion for a Winter spirit. Too bright, too active, not a winter animal." A spark of ice formed in her hand as Jack's hand edged up to cover Baby Tooth, and the Snow Queen smiled, cold and sharp as a fallen icicle. "Get rid of the weakness," she said, still staring at the tiny fairy, "and you won't be able to resist me next time." Her eyes narrowed, viciously. "And there will be another time. You will not sully the name of Winter by making it frivolous and destroying the danger. And that starts now!"

With that, she flung the shot of light at Baby Tooth with all the force and speed and accuracy of a major league pitcher, and Jack might have been impressed under other circumstances.

The spark curved in the air, and Jack spun with it.

She may have had the arm of a pitcher, but Jack had been using his staff and snowballs as bat and ball to change the leaves for a century now, and the spell caught on his staff with a satisfying crack, shooting back towards the Snow Queen.

Her eyes went wide, and she tried to dodge. Too slow, far too slow, and she was struck in the chest by her own spell.

The Snow Queen screamed, a cry of denial and rage, staggering off the dais. She lurched towards Jack, still screaming, and he staggered back as a crack ripped through the air.

And the Snow Queen, in a blast of blue light and frigid cold and crackling that deafened the room, turned to ice.

The room was shocked into silence, save for the faint crinkles and cracks that still came from the ice statue that had been the Snow Queen, a consequence of freezing so quickly, the ice settling into its new form with small snaps and pops.

"Is she...dead?" Raven asked. Bunny crept up close to her, sniffing, before giving the statue a little nudge with a hind leg. The Snow Queen rocked in place but stayed ice.

" 's not like she's got a warm heart to unfreeze her," Puck said, dropping down from one of the pillars to look closer. "Or anyone who loves her to unfreeze her."

"Unless she's powerful enough to undo it from in there," Freya commented, joining the other four in studying the statue.

Jack stood and stared at the statue in shock. That was the spell she'd been sending at Baby Tooth. And now she was...and possibly for good.

There was guilt there, like there had been for General Winter, but less. This had been her own spell, and defending someone small and innocent. It wasn't easy, but the relief was overpowering the guilt.

Baby Tooth, who'd gotten tucked down farther into his hoodie during those frantic seconds, chirped softly and poked her head out.

Slowly Jack sank down to his knees as Baby Tooth crawled out of his hood and into his hands to be held close to his chest, still staring at the Snow Queen in disbelief.

"It's over..." he said softly, disbelieving that it was all over so quickly, in one blow. "It's over."

"It is," Tooth agreed quietly, sinking down next to Jack. Nightlight and Katherine joined her, Nightlight to his side and Katherine in front.

"Will you come back with us, Jack?" Katherine asked softly. "We've so much to talk about and make up to you...will you give us that chance? Please, give us that chance."

Jack took a long, shuddery breath before looking up at Katherine. "Okay," he said. "I...yeah. But I need a little time. To sleep," he clarified when Katherine began to pull back, making her pause. "Because I am beat. Today has sucked."

Katherine, Nightlight, and Tooth giggled at that understatement. Hesitantly Nightlight stood and held out a hand, and Jack looked at it blankly for a moment before juggling staff and Baby Tooth, unwilling to put down either. Baby Tooth solved the issue by climbing back into Jack's hoodie and clinging to his collar, and Jack took Nightlight's hand, still holding it after he'd stood.

"I'm still mad," he warned Tooth. "I mean, just because I'm not yelling doesn't mean I'm over it. But..." he paused, looking down at Nightlight's hand in his, at Katherine's hopeful face, at the other Guardians still checking over the Snow Queen but glancing over at them, their faces filled with worry and apprehension alongside the relief, and sighed. "I almost lost everything today."

Tooth reached out, stopping before she actually touched Jack. "We all did," she said softly. "Let's get back. Where...where would you like to go?"

"Let's get back to the Pole," Jack said. "If my room is still there?"

"Will always be there," North said, coming up behind Katherine. "No matter what choice is made, will always be room kept ready for you at Pole."

Jack found a smile for that. "Yeah, let's get back," he said as everyone began to cluster around him. "Together."

* * *

There was a hushed, tense silence as the sleigh pulled into the bay, as everyone waiting for news strained to hear what had happened.

It broke into cheers as Jack appeared, blinking in surprise at the reception.

He was tired enough to accept North's help in getting out of the sleigh (in this case, being bodily lifted around the waist and set on the ground).

Everyone began to crowd around, pausing when North raised his arms and called out, "Please wait, friends! Will tell story soon, but first, need to rest. Jack especially."

There were murmurs at that, though everyone did move out of the way.

Jack glanced around as the Guardians and those who had come along moved through the crowd.

A short man with a broad, happy face caught Jack's eye, and signed quickly, asking Jack to speak to him later.

Jack glanced at the people around the man and recognized Cupid, Aphrodite, the Erotas, and guessed after a moment – aided by Freya's call of greeting – that it was Freyr and his wife Gerd standing with Frigga, a goddess of love and marriage.

After a second he nodded, and Freyr smiled gently. Freyr had been married a long time, and with all those spirits dedicated to love and marriage and relationships – good, healthy, steady relationships – maybe he could get some good advice for once.

But right now, he needed rest. Rest somewhere he knew was safe, was his, and it might not have been his den, it might have been the Pole and he might still have been angry at North but he still knew down to his bones he was safe here.

Pitch, he noticed offhand, had tried to slip away and had been cornered by Sandy. It was going to be interesting later to see the fallout from that.

If he was still around. If it all worked out.

For now, he allowed himself to be swept along to the private rooms of the Pole, to shut the door behind himself and fall face first into his bed, a real bed with sheets and quilts, and stay awake just long enough to see Baby Tooth into her little bed on the night stand, a pretty little nest in a lantern that had been converted into a little room with curtains on the glass panes and as many tiny pillows as her heart desired and tiny little fairy lights strung through the top, to tuck her in and see kiss her good night and receive her sleepy chirps of 'good night' and 'I love you' in return before passing out.


	46. Chapter 46

Jack slept like the dead, curled up on top of the blankets.

He was disoriented when he first woke up, reaching blindly for his staff. This wasn't his bed, and it wasn't the snow bed, where...

Baby Tooth chirped sleepily and Jack shook his head, coming fully awake. The Pole, he was back at the Pole. This was his bed. The Guardians came for him, they didn't abandon him. He was free.

He'd watched the Snow Queen turn into a statue of ice, and though she hadn't been shattered, he wouldn't be surprised if someone vengeful found out about what had happened and tried to.

Not his fault. It was her spell. She'd been attacking Rani.

...still, maybe her statue could be moved somewhere safer. The basement of the pole or his ice palace in Antarctica, maybe.

Sitting up, Jack curled up against the headboard, looking around the room as he thought, avoiding thinking about what had just happened by thinking over what he considered to be a bigger problem.

If he could believe Nightlight, than this whole this was a miscommunication, an attempt to wait until he felt more secure to tell him about the marriage. A chance for the other Guardians to get their own act together before bringing him in.

And he wanted to believe that, but ages of hurt didn't go away that easily.

After a few minutes, he sighed and stood up. He was retreading old ground here, even with the added 'they came for me' that kept running through his head, proof to his heart that they cared and balancing the voice in his head that tried to find reasons for it beyond 'they care.'

Jack cracked open the door, not surprised when he saw a yeti outside, working on a small toy prototype.

They perked when they saw Jack, and he gave a little wave. "Hey," he said awkwardly. The yeti began to babble, and Jack winced. "Um, maybe don't ask me that yet?" he said.

"I...look, I want to talk to Freyr and his crew if they're still willing," he said when the yeti paused, looking at him with tilted head. "I need to get my head straight. Then I'll talk to the Guardians."

The yeti spoke again, a long screed in yetish. Jack nodded his way through it, saying, "Yeah, I know, but I still need to talk to them first. Yeah, I could eat. Yeah, you can tell them I'm up, so long as you let them know I'll talk to them later."

The yeti nodded and patted Jack's head before making their way down the hall, moving surprisingly quickly and quietly for someone of their size.

Jack ducked back into his room to wait, and hoped he could get some good advice for once. That this was the right decision.

* * *

Baby Tooth was awake by the time the other spirits arrived, munching happily on the tiny vegetable curry the yeti had brought her. Jack was watching over her sitting in her little lantern room as he sat on the edge of his bed with his own vegetable curry, noticing how much she'd grown and wondering if the yeti would be irritated that he needed to ask for a bigger lantern for his best girl.

Sorry, Tooth and Katherine, he thought with amusement as Rani ate with tiny, neat, ravenous bites, but this little one had him wrapped around those tiny fingers.

There was a knock at the door, and both looked up. The door opened at Jack's call to come on in, revealing Freyr, who was smiling gently, if a touch nervously.

He waved and made his way in, holding onto his wife, Gerd's, hand. Behind them came Frigga, Aphrodite, and Cupid, followed by the Erotas (Anteros, god of requited love, Himeros, god of sexual desire and unrequited love, Hedylogos, god of sweet talk and flattery, Hymen, god of marriage, weddings, and the bridal hymn, and Pothos, god of sexual longing, yearning and desire).

Jack's room wasn't really meant for hosting large parties, but then again, when he'd asked to talk with them, he'd thought Freyr and maybe Cupid and Frigga would come, not the whole crew.

He said as much, adding quickly, "Not that I'm not glad to see the rest of you, it's just a tight squeeze in here. Um."

The yeti from earlier, who had apparently led the spirits here, popped their head in and grumbled out a question. "Yes!" Jack answered quickly. "Come on, Tamara says there's a lounge big enough for all of us down the hall, and she'll make sure no one bothers us."

There were already snacks set up in the lounge, and drinks, showing Tamara had expected this. There were also more chairs, though Jack was too keyed up not to sit on one proper, hopping up to sit in his cross-legged.

"I'm going to get right to it," Cupid said once everyone was settled. "This is about the marriage, right?"

"You all knew?" Jack asked in dismay.

"We're gods of _love_ and _marriage_ ," Cupid pointed out tartly. "We also knew it was pretty shaky the last few hundred years," he added, dropping the haughty act. "It's why I didn't say anything when you came to talk to me about liking all of them. Like, how much pressure would that put on you, to know they were married but it had been slowly crumbling the last five hundred years? To try and fix it? Not doing that.

"I admit, I did hope you'd fall in love with them and they'd get their act together to tell you, but the way they'd been acting, I sort of figured they'd forgotten about it," Cupid admitted, looking away from Jack. "Awkward for everybody."

Jack groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face, shedding ice. "This is a mess," he moaned through his hands, words muffled. He took a quick breath and ran his hands through his hair, shedding more ice in his frustrated state. "I don't know where to begin. I don't know what to do. And I'm still messed up from the whole Snow Queen mess, and I don't know how to feel about that, it hasn't really hit yet. I'm heading for a crash."

"One thing at a time, then. Do you want to forgive them?" Freyr asked gently. "Do you still care about them?"

"Yes," Jack said, "and yes, I'm just furious with their dumb faces right now for lying to me about it." Baby Tooth chirped, and Jack stroked her head reassuringly. "No, I'm not mad at you or your sisters," he reassured her. "Or the elves. Yeti, just a little, they could have hinted, but I'm not really surprised they didn't."

She chirped again, and Jack shrugged. "Yeah, that's what I figured. Too loyal to say anything when North wasn't, but frustrated he wouldn't," he translated.

"Have any of them said why they didn't say anything?" Freyr asked, still reasonable, and Jack wanted to be mad at him for it except he knew that was what he needed right now. Someone who could be, would be reasonable. Even if he wanted someone to be pissed with him.

"Nightlight said they forget other people might no know things that are obvious to them, so when I didn't know about it they thought they'd drive me off by telling me right away," Jack said. "Or it was something like that. I usually can remember but it's been a rough week."

The other spirits exchanged looks, and Jack fought back a flare of temper. "Well, would it have?" Freyr asked. "To know they were married and everything that went with that?"

Jack paused, bouncing in place. "I dunno," he said honestly. "I'm not used to people wanting me around. I mean, there were better ways to do it than just not telling me."

"Very true," Freyr agreed.

Hymen, the god of marriage and weddings, spoke up. "It wasn't much of a marriage at that point," he said, looking into his cup and spinning it as he spoke. "I mean, they still loved each other – right, Anteros?"

Anteros, god of requited love, nodded, adding, "It didn't burn with passion anymore, it was just sort of there. They were taking it for granted, I could feel it when I met any of them. But it's stronger now. Almost like you reminding them of the marriage made them remember how they felt and how they took it for granted for so long."

Hymen nodded in agreement. "It felt like they had almost forgotten it themselves," he agreed.

"I can't fix that," Jack snapped back. "You can't...just...can't expect bringing someone new in to fix things, isn't that like the worst idea?"

"It is," Aphrodite agreed. "If they hadn't started working on it as soon as they realized what was happening and left it on you."

Jack's fingers played nervously over his staff. "And what about when they start drifting again?" he asked. "When they get buried in their own things again and stop making time for each other?"

"That is something to be concerned about," Frigga agreed. "But is is what you are worried about right now?"

"I don't know," Jack said, one hand releasing the staff to run through his hair. "I just...emotions are hard."

"They are," she agreed. "If they were easy, we wouldn't need so many spirits to watch over them. Himeros, Hedylogos, Phothos? You three are being quiet."

"The love isn't unrequited, and I don't think Jack's ready to talk sex yet," Himeros, god of sexual desire and unrequited love, said mildly. Pothos, god of sexual longing, yearning, and sexual desire, winced and nodded.

"I don't think sweet talk and flattery are what's needed right now," Hedylogos, whose realm those were, added. "Actually, they'd probably make things worse."

Baby Tooth chirped softly, sympathetically, and Jack stroked her head gently, needing to use two fingers now that she was getting bigger. "I get a lot of why they did it," Jack said softly, "but they still kept it from me. I get how they forget other people don't know what they know, but they should have told me. I don't...this isn't...I just..." he sighed in frustration, trying to find the words to explain what was running through his mind and heart.

"Trust isn't easy to rebuild," Gerd said softly. "That's the core of it, isn't it? Wondering if you can trust them again?"

"I've been burned before," Jack said just as softly. "I don't think they'd do it on purpose, but..."

There was a collective wince, a moment of silence.

"I think, perhaps, what we need to ask is not what they did but what you want, Jack," Freyr asked.

"I want to trust them, but I don't know if I can," Jack finally said after a long pause. "I still...I..."

"You still love them," Aphrodite said sympathetically, sitting on the arm of Jack's chair. "Oh, don't get upset, you're in a room full of spirits of love. We recognize it even when people don't realize it yet themselves."

Jack paused again, and they all waited patiently. Emotions were always difficult and needed handling with caution and care.

"Yeah," Jack said as the quiet built. "Yeah, I do. I want them to apologize, I want them to promise they won't keep things from me anymore, I want to believe that promise. I want to start over, even if I'm still hurting. I want what we were building, but without the secrets. I want it so bad it hurts. Does that make sense?"

"It does, and if you ask them to swear on the oath as Guardians, that should be one they won't be willing, maybe not even able, to break," Cupid pointed out.

"As for the rest," Freyr leaned forward, hands to knees, "that's what we're here for. You, ah, haven't really had many relationships before, have you?"

Jack snorted. "Look, I was friends with the trickster spirits and big brother to the Snegurochka. That's pretty much it. Weren't that many other spirits around, and no one wants a bunch of tricksters to hang out together for too long. That answer your question?"

Freyr winced. "Yeah. You willing to get some advice?"

Jack spread out his arms. "My body is ready." Freyr paused, mouth working as he flailed. Jack chuckled, smirking faintly. "It means yes, I do want advice. Bring it on," he said. "You need caught up with current culture as much as the Guardians, huh?"

Freyr chuckled. "So it seems. Thankfully, some things don't change all that much." He looked at Gerd, taking her hand as he gazed at her with adoration. "Our relationship started out pretty rocky, so I think we might be able to help."

"All of us," Cupid said. "Someone should have made sure you knew earlier. I should have come out and said it before, but I thought you knew. I apologize, should have made sure then. Let's fix that now."

* * *

Jack had locked himself into one of the many rooms of the private wing of the Pole with most of the spirits of love and marriage of the Western world, and the Guardians weren't sure how to feel about that.

They wanted Jack to get some good advice, but Katherine in particular was worried, and sat in the corner with Nightlight, holding his hand tightly, as she explained to the others.

I'm just...Jack just came back from being kidnapped. From a fight with someone who wanted to brainwash him," she said softly. "I'm worried he's not going to deal with that."

Nightlight leaned up against her, light flickering. He'd used up all his words for awhile.

 _Jack has friends among those spirits,_ Nightlight said in lights. _Maybe it's best he works this through first. So we can help with the rest._

Katherine leaned back, accepting the comfort offered. She had yet to point out how this had blown up in their faces as she'd predicted it would, and, knowing Katherine, probably wouldn't. But she knew, and the Guardians knew.

Pitch had disappeared hours ago, and Sandy, though worried about Jack like the rest of them, was also vaguely smug about whatever he and Pitch had been arguing about. He wasn't talking, or 'talking', so none of them knew what had gone down between the two spirits.

Katherine wondered over that. Of all of them, Sandy, Nightlight, and Bunny had the most grief with Pitch, though in Sandy's case it had always been complicated in ways the Star found hard to explain.

Bunny...was having a hard time with it and was avoiding dealing with thoughts of Pitch until he had time. That was how Bunny worked. Knowing he might not be the last, that Pitch might not have that on his shoulders...and yet he may as well have been, he was so far from the Pooka ideal now.

Nightlight was keeping to himself on the subject, only commenting to Katherine that Pitch-that-was-then seemed very different to the Pitch-that-is-now.

Pitch was a worry for another day. Now was for Jack.

A yeti tapped on the door and poked their head around it. Most of them were getting better at actually knocking, Katherine noted. Unless it was an emergency, then it all went out the window.

Sometimes literally.

The yeti burbled out its message, letting them know that there were spirits wanting to talk to them – some of Jack's friends, to be exact.

"And here we are!" Loki announced, stepping out from behind the yeti. His brother, Puck, Raven, Anansi, and the three Snegurochka followed behind him more sedately.

"Look out mates, looks like it's time for th' shovel talk," Bunny grumbled.

"Oughtta be, after what's happened," Puck said, sliding onto a chair back, legs dangling down the front and elbow resting on their crossed legs. "What were you thinking?"

"Does it really matter?" Eirwen asked. Puck blinked at her a few times before a smile grew across their face.

"Wow, being Jack's really is helping," they commented. "Do you realize you just interrupted us? It's good, I like it," they said when Eirwen faltered, stricken. "Good on you. And if you remember Jack's history, yeah, it does. Matter."

They turned back to the Guardians. "Well?"

The four who had come up with the plan looked at each other, and North shrugged. "That Jack had been alone long time," he said. "That he thought were only friends. Knew nothing of marriage. That would drive him off to hear about it so soon."

"That we hadn't been acting married since Katherine and Nightlight left," Tooth said, wings fluttering. "That we couldn't ask him now when he just barely had begun to trust us."

"That we needed ta get our own act tagether before tryin' ta bring in Jack an' lettin' him feel like it was his job ta do it," Bunny finished for the speaking trio.

The other spirits had nodded as the trio spoke, silently considering the reasons the Guardians gave, and it was a strange feeling to be judged, one that angered them all even as they knew they had opened themselves to this particular consideration.

"How much have you left your little sanctuaries in the last five hundred years?" Puck asked. "Or, say the last three hundred? The years since Jack was born from that little lake of his?"

The Guardians glanced at each other and Puck waved a hand. "Well, I guess the new pair's off the hook for that, you were what, in space?" He drew out the words, jazz hands accompanying the phrase. "And I guess the Sandman there has to be out in the world, but how much did you notice."

 _I have a feeling you're going to tell us,_ Sandy signed, and Puck smiled as the other seven made themselves comfortable with varying degrees of ease.

"Let me tell you a story," Puck said.

* * *

A/N: Emotional chapters are hard. :(

Also, guess who got the new Jack Frost book for the holidays? Haha, I both want and don't want to read it and see what Joyce planned. Odd, isn't it? I'll be cherry-picking from it for my fanfics again most likely. After all, I still like having Nightlight and Jack be separate characters. Plan to start reading it tonight/tomorrow night.


	47. Chapter 47

The Guardians knew how long Jack had spent alone. Of course they did. But for someone who had lived as long as Bunny or Sandy, or someone who could get caught up in their work to the point of having a week pass by without their notice, like North or Tooth (or, to be fair, also Bunny) it was much more difficult to register just how difficult those three hundred years would have been for someone like Jack, who craved interaction with other people the way a fish craves water.

And, though the Guardians hadn't noticed, spirits had been growing fewer. Oh, people still believed in things, it was true, otherwise the Guardians themselves would have had to notice. But new spirits, oh no. They looked to other explanations, didn't create new spirits unless in fun now.

They might be created – look at Slenderman, or O'SHA – but it wasn't belief like was needed to sustain a spirit. Most of the ones that did appear were brief and weak as belief waxed and waned.

A Weather Phenom like Jack Frost? Even rarer. With radar, and storm tracking, and all the rest...why believe in a spirit causing the weather when everyone knew it was because of shifts in air pressure and warm air versus cold and all the rest? Jack was lucky in being old enough and embedded enough in culture that his name was still spoken, and he was strong on his own, from being raised by the moon and his own inner strength, that direct belief didn't weaken him.

Most all other Weather Phenoms had drifted away into nothing but a voice on the wind, fading away into nothing, as the years passed. New spirits were rarer and rarer, and the older spirits so entrenched in what they did that they didn't have time for a carefree spirit like Jack.

He irritated them at best. At worst, well, Jack was probably lucky he hadn't gotten into more fights than he had.

Three hundred years of being rejected. Of thinking he'd found someone only for them to fade away soon after. Thor and Loki were lucky, pop culture along with modern paganism had revived talk of them, and stories were still told of Raven and Anansi, while the play starring Puck was part of mainstream consciousness. The Snegurochka were less lucky – the stories were still around, but not well known, and they had never been powerful.

They were lucky in finding Jack, and having him supporting them, unconsciously as he did. Without him, they would have been even weaker, easy prey still for any spirit stronger than them, which was nearly all of them.

Snow Maidens and Little Match Girls (many of whom Jack had changed to Snow Maidens – even as weak as a Snow Maiden was, they were more powerful, healthier, happier than the misery of a Little match Girl) didn't last long in the service of spirits like General Winter or the Snow Queen.

But Jack was strong enough, loyal enough, and the Snegurochka weak enough, that no one fought him for them.

And they were all upset about Jack's upset, about Jack being lied to, and though they were weak they could make life very unpleasant for another spirit if that spirit hurt Jack more.

As shovel talks went, the diversion from stories about Jack to the Snegurochka's weren't very intimidating. The worst most of them could do was frostnip, maybe frostbite, which wouldn't harm a spirit for long though it would be painful. And while they might be a little jealous of the baby teeth, Baby Tooth in particular, they weren't going to harm any of them.

None of the snow maidens said it, but there was that secret hope they shared that Bunny could feel and wouldn't breathe a word of either, that the baby teeth could be their sisters as well. That they could love and be loved too, if only for Jack.

Still, it screamed of their loyalty and love for Jack, given how weak they were to speak so to spirits so much stronger than they were, and the Guardians could respect that.

Given that they were Jack's, if he chose to go through with the marriage, then the Snegurochka would be theirs to protect too, just as the Baby Teeth and Elves and Eggs and Yeti were (though the Yeti could take care of themselves just fine, being warriors before they had decided to join North).

Bunny had to speak up after the threats, mild and timid as they were, had been made. Because while it wasn't unheard of for a spirit to change from one thing to another, generally it was part of their story, something that was established. Little Match Girls turning to Snegurochka was not part of a story.

To turn them from one thing to another...that would take a great deal of power and belief.

But, as was pointed out in turn, Jack didn't know it couldn't be done. And the life of a Little Match Girl was a miserable one, and a powerless one, as theirs was a story told but not believed, and the tale itself was one of sorrow and pain. They didn't know what he'd done, and none of them had been a Little Match Girl, but did it matter? It had been done, and little girls didn't die in the snow the way they once had, not with Jack to help when he could, so there were rarely any more.

The point, Puck pointed out sharply, was that Jack was alone. Jack couldn't trust spirits, and save for the ones in this room – well, most of them, at least – it had been a long few centuries of lies and rejection, and it was amazing he'd been so open with the Guardians as it was.

Jack was tight-lipped about the rejections, but what spirits remained talked, and they didn't think to always watch their mouths around the tricksters until the pranks started on the ones who'd hurt Jack.

Even then, it took a century for them to catch on.

Some spirits got very entrenched in what they knew and so resistant to change that it took a remarkably long time for them to put pieces together.

It did explain why so little was known of Jack beyond the rumors or one-word descriptions.

Loner. Troublemaker. Rebel. Irresponsible.

And one of the people that Jack felt had rejected him was the Man in the Moon, who'd brought Jack out of the lake but never spoken to him again, no matter how much he begged for some kind of answer.

Other Weather Phenoms, major seasonal ones who had no tales told about them, had tried to befriend him, but it had been obvious soon after they'd only wanted him for his power, to bring about Winter. They never said it to his face, but it was easy to see they didn't care about or for Jack himself.

At least, it was obvious to just about everyone to Jack, who had had enough of solitude, unlike his Winter compatriots, and was eager for friends and family.

It started slow and subtle, the way these things usually did. A testing of the waters, how far they could push. Of course we told you about that, you must have forgotten. Your memory's so bad, of course you did, but it's okay. We forgive you. Oh, we didn't think you'd enjoy it anyway, why would you? No, you don't like doing that, what are you talking about.

Pushing, pushing, always pushing. Trying to shape Jack into what they needed.

But even desperate for approval, Jack was Jack. Stubborn, rebel, rulebreaker. And he pushed back.

They escalated, trying to force Jack back to their control. And Jack showed them just why no one messed with Jack Frost, why even General Winter turned and ran from him.

That was a few years before Easter of '68. Not why it happened, but they would bet it certainly didn't help matters any.

"You do have one thing going for you," Puck offered into the heavy silence following their story. "Yours was an honest mistake. It was, right?"

They paused, and repeated, "Right?" in a voice that said clearly that the only correct answer was agreement, and there was going to be a problem if it wasn't.

Not an idle threat, given that, while Puck didn't have the belief base the Guardians did, they had come from power, were Fae and magic in a way the Guardians weren't, and could give them a run for their money in ways the Snegurochka could only dream.

"We thought everyone knew," Tooth said, hands fluttering. There was little of the warrior about her at the moment, as she fretted and flitted.

"Was common knowledge," North agreed, stroking Tooth's shoulder. "Easy to forget Jack does not know all spirits should know."

"He knows more than people think," Puck agreed, "but at the same time, not some of the things he should. Comes from being left alone too long." They arched a brow, looking at the Guardians while the other Tricksters, Loki and Raven and Anansi, flanked themm, flanked in turn by Thor and the three Snow Maidens. "So. No more secrets?"

"No more on purpose secrets," Katherine countered. Heads swung to stare at her, and she stared them down with clear grey eyes. "You said it yourself, Jack doesn't know everything about other spirits he probably should. We aren't going to keep things from him on purpose, but we can't sit him down and tell him everything. He likely knows half of it, and he's not going to sit there for that. Would you?"

She was met with various winces and noises of unwilling agreement, save for from Thor, who laughed. "If it were you telling it? Perhaps. You are Empress of Stories. If any could make dry politics interesting would be you."

More noises of agreement met that statement, more hopeful this time. A smile tugged at the corners of Katherine's lips at the compliment, though she still wasn't so hopeful. "It's still a lot," she said. "Maybe we should let Jack decide."

"Well," Loki said, "just remember that if you hurt him again, well. You'll never see it coming."

" 'Mblargh, it's me'?" Thor asked.

Loki didn't answer, just smirked.

The joke went over the Guardians' heads, as well as the Snegurochka and a couple of tricksters, though Raven and Puck smirked as well.

There was a pause, and then Thor said, "Whatever happened to some of Snow Queen's spirits? I did not face Nucklelavee, but saw him."

"A lot of them just disappeared after we attacked," Tooth said thoughtfully. "But that one should have put up more of a fight..."

Sandy gestured, jumping up and down for attention, only noticed at first by Nightlight as the others began to speculate about the fates of the spirits they had not faced, Bloody Mary and Raw Head Bloody Bones and Marzanna and the rest.

Nightlight watched, wondering if he should help, but settling for laughing when Sandy finally rolled his eyes and looked around expectantly. A nearby elf sighed heavily and walked over, only to be picked up and shaken, the bell on its hat ringing loudly over the voices.

Everyone fell silent, heads turning to stare at Sandy, who looked back at them deadpan, dropping the elf who staggered away, grinning.

Still staring them down, Sandy waited until he was sure every eye was glued to him, before he began 'speaking', his golden sand shapes slow and deliberate.

Technically, he could speak, but he didn't like to, didn't want to, and wasn't going to for this when he hadn't for things much more important.

He formed Pitch's head, waiting and pausing between shapes to be sure he was understood. Pitch's head, arrows underneath pointing to Slenderman, to Bloody Mary, to Raw Head Bloody Bones.

"Pitch took care of the urban legend spirits?" Tooth ventured, and Sandy nodded, a point appearing in gold sand over Tooth's head – one of Jack's games, one they needed right now.

He formed the Nucklelavee next, much less frightening in golden sand, especially since Sandy didn't go into details, and Marzanna, the Grindylow, the other spirits the Snow Queen had gathered, and a pair of hands being washed under a flow of golden sand.

The guesses this time were much more varied, far off the mark, and Sandy was growing more and more irritated until Katherine spoke up.

"They're...washing their hands of the situation?" She asked, and beamed as a point glowed above her head. Her brow creased in thought, and she spoke as she worked her way through the idea. "They were there for the Snow Queen's power...those she didn't force...so they didn't want to face someone that could take her down, did they? Not worth the risk to themselves. And there wasn't loyalty there, to make them stay."

"The Nuckelavee is supposed to be very powerful," Thor pointed out, smoothing a hand over his beard as he thought.

"Powerful, yeah, but maybe not wanting to deal w' all this?" Bunny pointed out, gesturing at all the spirits in the room. "Might be able ta take one of us after a fight, but all of us?"

"Best to keep eye out," North said, agreeing with Thor. "Nuckelavee is hunter, not fighter. Chases down prey," he pointed out to Bunny. "Could hold grudge."

"Your choice, mate," Bunny said. "Wouldn't put it past some of 'em to try a dirty trick or two if they catch a spirit alone."

Silence fell in the room, each spirit thinking, their thoughts down similar but branching paths.

"Did anyone ever hear about the time Jack and I snuck into Asgard?" Anansi asked suddenly.

Loki and Thor whipped to face him, with Loki's face clouding in confusion before his eyes widened.

"That was you?!" he exclaimed

Anansi grinned, and Bunny sat back on his heels. "Okay, we gotta hear this one," he said.

* * *

Jack paused outside the room, his fingers brushing the knob. He could hear laughter from inside, and while usually that would draw him into a room, this time he had a feeling of being on the outside again, watching a happy family he could never join through a window.

This family wanted him, Jack reminded himself. They'd lied, yeah, but they'd lied to keep him...which sounded wrong when he put it that way, but still.

He glanced over his shoulder, where the spirits of love and romance and marriage were gathered.

Cupid gave him a cheesy grin and a thumbs up as the rest nodded or waved encouragement.

They'd be following Jack in after a minute, let him have a moment first.

Swallowing, Jack took a deep breath and set his hand on the knob, turning it and opening the door before he could second guess again.

No more hiding behind a false smile. No more being afraid of being left behind.

This time, it was going to be all out in the open.

So why was it so terrifying?

* * *

Heads turned as the door opened, and the laughter trailed off as Jack entered the room, clutching his staff close.

Jack straightened under all those eyes, but didn't plaster on a fake smile or crack a joke as he usually would to hide behind. This was too important.

Jack walked until he stood in front of the Guardians, and though he felt like he was the one in front of the firing squad, he was still able to see though his nerves that the Guardians were looking at him as if he were the one in charge and they stood facing down the squad.

"Okay," Jack said, faintly hearing the other spirits coming in and joining the tricksters (what were the tricksters doing in here? Don't tell him they were doing a shovel talk, oh he was never going to let them live that down...or let them know quite how touched he was that they'd do that). "Okay. So. I'm still a Guardian, right?"

A chorus of agreement met that statement, filled with assurances that even if Jack didn't want to be married to them all, he'd more than earned being a Guardian.

So long as he still wanted to be one, if he could forgive them and stand to see them still, if...

Jack cut them off with a quick wave of his hand. "Good. Good. I'm...yeah. We're going to try this again," he said, "only this time, no lying. No assuming I know something just because everyone did once. We're going to be open about it this time, about everything. Telling me everything. That's my condition for this. We're starting over, sort of, and this time everyone's getting told everything. Got it? Everyone good?"

The Guardians looked at each other before Tooth spoke. "It's more than we'd dared hope for, Jack," she said, fluttering closer but not reaching for him. She wanted to, so badly, but even she had learned not to yet. "You were so angry, we didn't think you'd want to see any of us again."

Jack huffed out a small laugh, ducking his head to hide behind his bangs. "Yeah, well..." he looked up at Tooth through his bangs, frost dotting his cheeks, "Guess I really wanted to believe."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I use a lot of Rufftoon's official comics in my personal 'verse. They were on Tumblr and Deviantart, she does the best Jack faces. :)

And we're on to romancing a Jack that knows what's happening!


	48. Chapter 48

The tricksters and spirits of love and marriage were reluctant to leave. They wanted to stay, to help the Guardians – all of them – work through these first few days.

Still, there was a line between 'helping' and 'meddling', between wanted and unwanted interference, and staying longer would be crossing that line into bad territory.

Each made a point to talk to each Guardian anyway before they left, offering everything from a line of communication if they needed advice or a willing ear to another modified shovel talk. Sometimes both, and sometimes the shovel talk wasn't exactly all that serious.

The Guardians, after all, wouldn't hurt Jack on purpose. On accident, though...they'd probably end up punishing themselves worse than the tricksters could, but that wouldn't stop them from taking advantage of a perfect opportunity to get away with pranking some of the most well known and powerful spirits around with impunity.

The first few days were tentative, as the seven spirits did the emotional equivalent of tiptoeing around each other.

As much as they wanted to stay by each other and try to fix this, they all had duties, and all too soon Tooth and Sandy had to leave. No matter what was happening to them personally, the children were still losing teeth that needed collecting, and they needed sweet dreams, and Tooth's fairies could only go without their mother so long, and Sandy could only leave the Dreamsand on its own so long.

Jack was almost relieved by it, and promised to go visit them both soon, after they'd gotten things back under control. He faltered a little when trying to explain, finally falling back on, "I want some one on one time. This is...getting a little overwhelming."

* * *

Katherine sought Jack out, Nightlight by her side, the day after Tooth and Sandy headed back to work. She really should get to work herself, she knew – more and more the stories of the world were coming to her, and somehow Katherine knew it was to be her job to write them all down, to spread their creative energy around the world to inspire others.

But even she couldn't write all day. And Nightlight had wanted to go talk to Jack, so...

Jack looked up as they approached, then back out the window. His hood was up, and he was curled up on the window seat, but he didn't tell them to leave, and he nodded when Katherine patted the window seat, silently asking permission to join him.

The trio sat quietly looking out the window at the drifts of snow. Several yeti were outside, having a snowball fight, and Katherine grinned to see Jack's influence at work.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jack suddenly asked.

Katherine paused, tilting her head to try and see under Jack's hood. He didn't move, still ostensibly staring out at the yeti.

"The others asked me not to," she said. "Well, more like begged me. They were trying to figure out how to break it to you. I gave them a deadline before Nightlight and I went ahead and told you."

"Why hold the party before breaking the news, then?" Jack demanded. "You had to know somebody would crack."

"I'm still not sure how it happened," Katherine said slowly, thinking over the time before the party. "The deadline was that evening. I love them, but sometimes I don't know what they're thinking."

She paused, looking out the window herself, before she said, "I believe everyone was told you weren't ready for marriage, just Guardianship, and not to bring it up."

 _A lot of spirits were surprised it was still a marriage,_ Nightlight supplied. _Jack's not the only one who didn't know. Mostly younger spirits didn't know about it._

Jack's trailing fingers left frost spiraling on the window. "It does explain the spirits I overheard talking about what some of us would be like in bed," he said slowly. He grinned at Katherine's squeak of outrage, adding "They weren't being complimentary," knowing it would fuel the indignation. "Pretty nasty, really. I, ah, kinda accidentally set Pitch on them. What's his deal, anyway? I thought he hated us, then he sorta helps me."

Katherine didn't like changing the subject, but let Jack do it anyway, hoping it was just rambling and not actively avoiding talking about it. "I don't know. He used to be a lot more...evil, I'll say. Actively trying to harm children."

"Well, I wouldn't say Easter of 2012 was that great," Jack pointed out. "He shot Sandy in the back."

Katherine and Nightlight both winced. "He did do that," she admitted. "I just..." she looked out the window again, unsure of her own feelings on the matter. "Sandy and Bunny both know about how he used to be, long ago. And the fearlings that tainted him have nearly all died off, thanks to all of us. He'll never be the Golden General again, but...he's not the person he was during the wars, either."

Jack hummed softly. The three sat in companionable silence for a time, watching the yeti outside and listening to the hum of the Workshop inside.

"It hurt," Jack said, so softly only Katherine and Nightlight could hear him, and even then only just. "It hurt so much to find out all of you had been keeping this from me. I'm not going to lie anymore, so I have to admit it." His hand inched over and brushed against Nightlight's, resting together on the window seat. "Because I trusted all of you. Because, maybe it's silly of me, but I want this. I want it so much."

Jack looked at them through his bangs, letting them see past the mask of devil-may-care that he wore around other spirits down to the vulnerable center.

Nightlight slipped his hand over, so he could hold Jack's, relieved when Jack squeezed back. Katherine stood and Nightlight read her intentions quickly, hundreds of years alone together making it simple, and he tugged Jack away from the wall he'd been leaning against.

Jack came along, confused and protesting, until Katherine sat where he'd been, sandwiching him between them. Katherine took Jack's hand in both of hers, gently untangling it from his staff, which slid to the crook of his elbow.

On his other side, Nightlight interlaced their fingers. "We do, too," Katherine said, leaning cautiously against Jack's side and feeling the small thrill as he leaned back. "We want it so much."

* * *

Jack hovered over the Tooth Palace, considering. He probably should have gone to see Bunny first. Tooth was going to be so busy, after taking a few days off, for the...the kidnapping and all.

He still hadn't really dealt with that properly. If he could have, Jack would have been perfectly happy to forget the whole thing, but if Katherine and her books were to be believed, that would make things worse in the long run.

Ugh. Trying to be a responsible adult sucked. No wonder he'd put it off as long as possible.

And now he had to go have a responsible, adult conversation with Tooth about their feelings.

If it all worked out it was going to be so worth it, but ugh, being responsible was the worst.

Jack flitted through the air down to Tooth's palace, greeting the Baby Teeth by name and cooing over them as they hurried to fetch and store the teeth.

He perched on one of the graceful beams of Tooth's command central, noting as he did that, while it was pretty, it reminded him a little of a cage. Maybe it was how Tooth had admitted she hadn't left it for around four hundred years...maybe Tooth would be interested in a little redecorating.

The musing was interrupted by watching Tooth herself. She spun and glittered inside the gold, a living jewel as she gushed and enthused over a first lost tooth, a tooth holding particularly sweet memories, or worried over a house that had multiple teeth lost.

Then she caught sight of Jack, and started.

She called out his name happily, pausing only long enough to be sure the girls had smoothly taken over before fluttering over to him.

"Hey," Jack said softly. "Think the girls can handle things for a little while?"

"A little while," Tooth agreed. "I don't want to leave them for long, they did wonderfully over the few days but I don't want to ask too much of them."

Indignant chirps met that statement, and Jack covered up his chuckling as the Baby Teeth insisted they could handle it.

They hustled their mother off as she bit back her own giggles, at least until she and Jack were alone in one of the inner rooms of the Tooth Palace.

Then she went silent and nervous, fixing tea and a small plate of fruit as they both sat in piles of large cushions. Jack didn't protest this time, letting Tooth fuss. It gave him an excuse to try and calm his own nerves.

"I'm not mad," Jack said suddenly, the words almost bursting free. "I mean, I'm upset yeah but I got a chance to think it over so I'm not mad anymore really. I'm just..." he ran a hand through his hair, huffing out a puff of frost. "I had this whole speech I rehearsed the whole way here and I forgot it," he said ruefully.

"I wasn't sure you would ever forgive us," Tooth said, hands smoothing out the cloth over the low table they were seated at. "The time was never right to tell you – first you seemed to be so sure we were going to get rid of you, telling you felt cruel, and then you were trying to get rid of us, and...it was just never right. It seemed right at first to fix our own marriage before we told you, but then time kept passing and..." she gestured vaguely, encompassing the few years since they'd all met and Jack had joined them.

"Was it really that bad?" Jack asked.

Tooth looked down into her chai. "I hadn't left my palace in over four hundred years," she reminded Jack. "I was so focused on the teeth...it ...we needed to work on it. And if you hadn't come when you had, I don't think we would have realized it," she added, looking up at Jack frankly. "You aren't supposed to fix it. We are. But you made us realize it needed fixed, Jack."

"I figured you just wanted me for my teeth," Jack said, trying to inject some laughter into the conversation.

It worked, as Tooth giggled. "They don't hurt," she said. "Jack..." she reached out, not quite touching Jack, her hand hovering over his like a bird frightened to land, "you do know you aren't supposed to fix this, right? The marriage or our mistakes."

"Well, it'd be pretty hard to fix it without my cooperation," he pointed out with a wink, turning over his hand to brush against her gently. "Think you're fixing it? And that you can keep from doing that again?"

Tooth fussed with her teacup again, before looking up at Jack, their free hands interlaced over the table. "Honestly? I think we're hoping having you and Katherine and Nightlight around will help. The three of you don't get...sucked into your work like we do. Katherine can get deep into a story, but she takes breaks. I can't see the three of you letting us, even if we start to slip."

She looked back towards the command center. "I should probably get back to work soon, it's not right to ask the fairies to do all my work for me."

"That needs a makeover," Jack said, standing with Tooth. "Way too much like a cage."

Tooth paused, looking it over. "I...suppose it does. I don't..."

"Maybe Bunny can get some flowers growing over it," Jack offered, to ease her distress. "Won't be a cage then."

Tooth smiled, hesitating before floating in and pressing a kiss to Jack's cheek, her heart fluttering as he smiled and kissed hers in return. "Let's go flying again soon, kay?" he said.

Tooth giggled. "Just so you know...the Sister of Flight did courtship flights," she warned him. "Showing off speed and all their best moves. Don't worry, I didn't count any of our previous flights as one, since you didn't know. But I did wish you did."

"Well," Jack said after a second to process that. "I guess we'll have to have a flight, then."

He winked at the flustered and giggly Tooth and took off.

* * *

Jack floated on the wind, not heading in any particular direction just yet, simply thinking.

He wasn't really feeling the effects of being held by the Snow Queen yet...that was coming, though, he was pretty sure of it. He wasn't sure exactly how long she'd held him, but while he may have come out physically unscathed, there was no way he'd come out mentally fine.

But, as far as he knew, there wasn't a spirit of therapy out there, so he was going to have to find another way to deal with it, or find out if there was a spirit out there he could trust that had gotten bored enough to sit through the college courses on therapy.

Not very likely, to be honest.

He was bumming himself out, and after he'd had such a great glow going from visiting with Tooth and all the hopeful feelings that conversation had brought on. With that thought, Jack spun down towards the ground. Bunny had said, once, that the Warren would always open for him...it was time to find out if that was still true.

Three taps of his staff to the ground, solid and deliberate, less a tap and more a solid hit so the spell would know he wasn't just fiddling with the staff but wanted in, and after a tense few seconds a hole opened up in the ground in front of Jack.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Of course Bunny hadn't had a reason to close the Warren to him, but...it was going to be a long time before Jack could expect the spell to work without that moment of fear.

Silly maybe, but it was what it was. Jack jumped into the tunnel before he could think more on it, a skiff of ice letting him skate through the tunnels to the Warren and melting behind him.

He hit the Warren and took to the air with a somersault, hovering near the ceiling.

Bunny could be anywhere in here, really, and there was a lot of Warren, more than they'd first seen that Easter they'd all been down here to try and defeat Pitch.

Jack wasn't really sure why he wanted to talk to Bunny right now rather than think over his conversation with Tooth more. He just...wanted to be near the other Guardian for some reason.

He and Bunny may have argued a lot, but there was still something solid and comforting about the Guardian of Hope.

The only question...well, not the only question, but the first one...was where to find him.

"Here, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny," Jack murmured, grinning, before taking off.

Time for an Easter Bunny hunt.


	49. Chapter 49

Jack finally found Bunny weeding a patch of garden. It seemed Bunny spent a lot of time tending to gardens, weeding and coaxing and feeding and watering.

It looked like a lot of work to Jack, and vague memories of a life before being a spirit told him it was, but not necessarily bad work.

He was still going to stay away from the plants he wasn't sure could take a frost, though. Big difference between doing that on accident to a plant outside to harming something in the Warren. That almost felt like sacrilege.

Jack watched Bunny work for a minute before he swooped down and blew a cold draft over the back of Bunny's neck.

Bunny screeched, fur standing straight up and his ears snapping to attention as he jumped several feet in the air.

Jack was sent spinning through the air by the reaction and he howled with laughter as he tumbled.

"Bloody show pony," Bunny grumbled, freezing for a second after the words slipped out, as if afraid that it was still too soon for insults, even affectionate ones, but Jack kept laughing.

He swooped down to tap Bunny's nose with a laughing "Boop!" and flitting back up just out of reach. "Hey Bunny," he added.

"Hey, Jack," Bunny replied with a sigh and a fond smile. "What was that about, ya loon?"

Jack shrugged. "I dunno. Saw the opportunity and took it, I guess." He drifted back down to the ground, crouching on a rock near Bunny. "Doin' somethin' important?"

Bunny shrugged. "You're more important. What's up, Snowflake?"

It was Jack's turn to shrug. He crossed his arms, resting them atop his knees, and dropped his chin onto his crossed arms. "Just wanted to drop in, I guess. Spoke to Tooth, a little. Hey, you're super old, right?"

Bunny snorted in only half feigned irritation at the question, drawing himself up. "What you gettin' at, there, young'un?"

Jack let out a short giggle at that, slipping down on his rock to sit with one leg dangling, other knee drawn up and an arm resting on that knee. "Just thinkin'. Dunno about you, but after the last week, I was wondering if there's like a, spirit of therapy or something. And if they'd be, yanno, up to date or still ancient in their approach."

Bunny paused, tilting his head as he thought it over. "Gotta be somebody," he mused. "Even if they're new. Ya want me ta put out some feelers?"

Jack shrugged again. "So long as you guys don't blow me off I might be okay. Not ready to talk about it yet."

"We'll be here when ya are," Bunny said.

Jack grinned. "Really are soft, huh? Even with all the tough front you put on."

"Yeah, well, you keep it to yourself there Snowflake. Hard enough ta get respect when people see a big rabbit as is," Bunny grumbled.

"Like I get any," Jack snorted, and waved his hand. "Safe with me Kangaroo."

Bunny gave him a glare, if a mild one. "Thought we were quittin' wit' the kangaroo jokes," he said warningly.

Another short giggle, and Jack stuck out his tongue.

Then he paused, looking down at Bunny. "They bother you like Frostbite did me?" he asked. Bunny paused as well, thinking it over for a moment, before shrugging.

"Suppose not. Not my favorite nickname, but can't say I hate it that much," he said, scratching at an ear. "But you didn't come to talk about tha', did ya, Jackie?"

Jack sighed and slid down the rock, leaning on his staff. "I guess not," he said, glancing up at Bunny though his bangs. "I mean...I didn't really come to talk about something in particular, just...needed to talk, yanno?"

"About all the stuff we shoulda told ya before, yeah. And in general." Bunny crouched and Jack sat next to him, both of them attempting casual but a touch too tense to pull it off.

"So, Tooth says her courtship includes flying. Anything we did together that could've counted?" Jack asked bluntly.

Bunny paused, thinking it over. "Most Pooka don't, anymore. Didn't. Not sure which one's right anymore," he said. "Big on logic, they are. 'M not a proper Pooka anymore, ain't been in centuries. Last I was around 'em, it was all contracts and legalities. Long time before that, was the chase. Tryin' to catch each other. Lettin' yourself be caught. Circlin' each other. Puttin' on a show."

"Like with the coats?" Jack said lightly, and Bunny's ears twitched.

"Ya ain't the only one needin' a bit a courtin'," Bunny said, looking anywhere but at Jack. "Been a long time since we did anythin' married-like, folk need a little fussin'."

"Aw, that's sweet," Jack said, and Bunny whipped around to snap at him for teasing only to find Jack smiling at him honestly. "No, really, it is. See, soft. Good soft."

Bunny grumbled but reached out to ruffle Jack's hair. "Didn't get a lot o' that after ya woke up, did ya?" he said quietly. "Yer a right gumby but ya deserve it anyway."

Jack huffed out a chuckle, looking up at Bunny from under that paw. "Yeah, well, Winter's not really known for being soft," he said, just as quietly. "Can't afford it."

"It's getting there," Bunny said. "The more people have places to be safe, the more they like it. Like th' kids and all the games you start."

"Leading them home was always so hard when they couldn't see me," Jack said, shifting until he could lean against Bunny.

Bunny had to pause at that. "I never heard about that," he said. "You led them home, Jackie?"

"Sometimes I'd just get this feeling like there was someone lost in the woods," Jack said, not looking at Bunny but out across the Warren instead. "I'd have to do things like snowballs or snowmen or frost animals to lead them out of the woods home...or to a real home, sometimes."

"...yer jus' full of surprises," Bunny said softly, a cautious arm going around Jack's shoulders. "Why do ya let everyone think so bad o' ya?"

Jack shrugged. "Spirits gonna think what they want. Too much effort to correct 'em. The ones that matter take the time to learn about the real me."

"Still are, Snowflake," Bunny said as Jack leaned against him. "Still are."

* * *

Jack found himself dozing in the Warren, and let himself. It wasn't often he got to nap in the springtime warmth without being harassed by Spring spirits wanting every last bit of Winter gone.

Probably going to be less likely now that Bunny was obviously approving of him, and none of them had had the power to make him leave, just to annoy him into going, but still.

Bunny was weeding again but still nearby, and that was nice too. To be able to just be near each other, comfortable in the presence of the other.

They may not have been getting into the really emotional talks yet, but sheesh, these were draining.

The Warren was quiet, but a calm, soothing quiet, not like the sterile quiet of the Snow Queen's Palace, and Jack was just on the verge of drifting off into a doze when Bunny's voice roused him.

"Hey, Jack?"

Jack roused himself and propped himself up on his elbows to look at Bunny, who was crouched back on his heels again, looking out over the Warren with a distant look on his face.

"What's the word, hummingbird?" Jack asked.

Bunny glanced over his shoulder at Jack, and the look on his face set Jack off into giggles, falling back onto the grass as he giggled and snorted.

"I will never understand Earth humor," Bunny grumbled, but there was amusement laced under the irritation. He turned to better face Jack, using his front paws to come closer. "Jack, you haven't brought it up, but...how are you doing? Dealin' wit' the whole...I ain't processed it all yet."

Jack's laughter died off and he stared up at the false sky of the Warren silently.

"I don' know what it was like, in there," Bunny said, still gentle, "but I know what it was like when..." he paused, rubbing a paw over his face, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Ah, sometimes it was almost easier when ah didn't let myself have emotions. Not as worth it. When ya went cold on us. When she made you go cold. Felt like mah heart stopped. Well, sort of. Can't properly explain it. An' it musta been so much worse, I don't know how ta help ya but I want ta. I let things fester before an' it's never clean when it finally gets looked ta."

Jack wrestled with a rush of anger. No, Bunny didn't know what it was like, and was he trying to compare the pain?

No, he wasn't, he was trying to communicate, but the flash of anger must have shown on his face as Bunny hadn't said anything yet. Sparking a fight would have been so very, very easy at that moment, only a word could have done it.

Because it felt like he was complaining about how much Jack's kidnapping hurt him, and Jack fumbled with his words as he tried to explain that.

Bunny waited, though his ears flickered from time to time, letting Jack dump it all out. Finally Jack stuttered to a halt, words failing, and Bunny huffed softly.

"Sometimes I really don't know wha' I'm doin'," he murmured, loping that last bit closer to Jack. "Sometimes I don' think I'll ever understand. I ain't compairin' pain, Snowflake. Unless it's ta say that while we were hurtin', you had to have it worse. We were so scared."

Jack leaned back against Bunny, the insult fading. "I don't think I've ever heard you admit that before," he said softly. "Even when...you know. Easter."

Bunny huffed again, but this one was more amused and short than the last. "Yeah, well. Image and all. Don' let Pitch know yer scared. Bad enough he kin feel it."

Jack huffed out a laugh of his own, but it was bitter enough to come out as a small puff of frost. He stared at the dissipating cloud before he started speaking, feeling as if it were someone else talking, not him. "It was so cold," he said. "I haven't been cold since I came out of the lake. But when her ice shards started taking over...I was so cold. And I couldn't...so numb. And cold."

Jack curled in on himself as he spoke, clutching at his arms, trying to get warm. "I...knew who all of you were, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She wasn't allowed to hurt you, but it wasn't...good."

Bunny shifted, gently pulling Jack back until he was leaning against Bunny's chest, against warm, so warm, soft fur.

Jack felt something begin to thaw and leaned farther back against Bunny and into that warmth. "Then there was Baby Tooth. When she cried on my eyes and then kissed them, she melted the ice shards. Love. It's always been what melts the Snow Queen's ice, and I love that little fairy. Platonic, I think that made it stronger."

"Even before getting into how we hurt you right before she did," Bunny murmured into Jack's hair.

"That didn't help," Jack admitted. "I do...I'm pretty sure I love all of you, but it was pretty painful right then. Still is, a bit."

Bunny nuzzled at Jack's hair. "Ah, right buch a' nupties, ain't we? Tryin' not ta hurt ya and hurt ya worse instead."

"Yeah, well, no more secrets, and it'll get better," Jack said, tapping Bunny's nose.

"Gonna do our best. It's like Katherine said, we don't know what you don't know, but we ain't keepin' anythin' from ya on purpose anymore," Bunny said.

"That's all I'm asking," Jack said, leaning back against Bunny again. "Stay like this a bit? I still feel cold, remembering."

"Love to, Snowflake," Bunny said simply, squeezing Jack gently. "Nothin' I'd like more right now."

* * *

Jack had to move eventually. Both he and Bunny weren't suited for staying still for long periods of time.

They stayed like that longer than either had expected, both too content to move, but they eventually had to.

Jack set off on the Wind, ready to search out Sandy. These little talks weren't the only ones they were going to have to have before everything was smoothed out, but it was a start, and Jack was surprised to find he felt better after each one.

May as well see if he could keep that streak up.

Sandy was going to be hard to find. Technically, he had an island, complete with sand castle and mermaids, to call home, but giving good dreams to children meant he had to travel the world on a nearly constant basis.

Jack wasn't quite sure how it worked, since Sandy could leave it alone for a day or two to focus on something else and yet the kids still had sweet dreams, but they immediately began having nightmares when Pitch took him out.

Then again, Pitch probably had something to do with that.

Right now, Sandy could be anywhere it was dark, where kids were likely asleep by now...which was a fairly large area.

Somehow, it was like there was a new sense, telling Jack which way to go to find Sandy. North had mentioned something like that, once, he vaguely remembered. About being able to find each other. The question was, was Jack starting to feel it because he knew about the marriage, or because he was starting to come to terms with the idea, or because he was admitting, even if it was a sideways confession like the one he'd given to Bunny, that he was starting to love them.

If 'starting to' meant 'didn't want to think about life without them in it' at least. Jack was pretty sure he'd started to fall a good while back and just hadn't let himself admit it, since it was still strange to him to admit he cared about anyone like that, let alone this many people. There hadn't been anyone before to love romantically, he wasn't entirely sure what it should feel like.

Off in the distance, Jack spotted the glowing golden cloud that meant Sandy and put on an extra burst of speed to catch up with him.


	50. Chapter 50

Jack floated down onto the cloud, settling as gently as one of his snowflakes. "Hey there little man, you okay with some company?"

Sandy turned to him, surprised at the sudden appearance but very pleased with it. He didn't mind when Jack called him that – though there were quite a few other spirits that would feel the edge of his temper, which, while usually mild, could be sharp as his whips – if they called him that.

Jack, though...from the first it had sounded like an in-joke.

Jack settled onto the cloud and reached up into one of the streams of Dreamsand. Dolphins burst from the sand, leaping and dancing around Jack before streaming down towards a child's home.

Jack watched it go, seemingly content with the silence for the moment as Sandy went back to work.

Occasionally he would lift a hand, as if to touch another stream of Dreamsand, but each time he hesitated and pulled back.

"Does it bother you, when people touch your sand?" Jack asked, the suddenness of the question making Sandy pause.

 _Sometimes,_ he finally answered in soft, sparkling lights. _Some people have no respect for it, and that bothers me. You never have. Bothered me, I mean. Why?_

Jack shrugged, but spoke when he would usually have kept silent, continuing his own personal promise of being open. "Just wondered if it was something like Tooth's flights or Bunny's chases – you know, a courting thing disguised as something else. Something that could be intimate if both people knew about it, but isn't unless they're both in on it."

Sandy watched Jack for a moment before drawing his attention. _It could be. If both knew,_ he said. _But it would be special. Like how...touching someone's hand means something different for different people and different situations. It would be pretty obvious._

Jack looked back up at the streams of sand overhead with a small hum.

And, very slowly and deliberately, reached up to run a finger along one stream.

Sandy shivered, mouth forming a silent 'o', and he winked at Jack, who was frosting over in a blush but not backing down.

His frost sparkled along the sand, and he watched it spiral down to a child's home after another second of watching Sandy, remembering the first time it had happened.

Sandy had been so happy about it, and to judge by the smile on his face, he still was. The mix of fun and joy made a special dream, he'd said.

"I have to ask," Jack said after they'd sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. "I asked Bunny, and Tooth, and Katherine and Nightlight. Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

Sandy paused a moment, and Jack gave it to him, to organize his thoughts.

The light show that commenced was complex, and it was a good thing Jack had spent so much time over the last few years working to understand Sandy's lights rather than relying solely on the shapes and charades, as without it he probably wouldn't have caught more than one word in five.

The answer, in the end, boiled down to what Jack had suspected – a fear of losing him, of it never being the right time to speak up without hurting him, things spiraling out of their control.

Guilt and sorrow for causing him pain.

When it was over, Jack sighed, rolling over to sprawl across the cloud as they floated across the ocean towards the next town. "Well, no more secrets," he said, and Sandy nodded, settling down into the cloud next to Jack. "I mean, like Katherine said, kind of secrets. I want this." He leaned over and bumped shoulders with Sandy, laughing as he said, "So maybe let's not mess this up again?"

Sandy leaned back, glowing brighter than usual, a few little sparkles speaking for him quietly, thanking Jack for giving them all a second chance.

* * *

The two of them floated through the sky quietly. It was harder to talk to Sandy than the other four had been – and not because he didn't talk in words, but because of how busy he was.

Still, sometimes it was nice to just sit with someone quietly for awhile and be in their company.

Jack stared up at the stars, his mind wandering. "Hey, Sandy?" he asked. There was a flicker of light, letting him know Sandy had heard and was paying attention even as he kept sending out strands of sand. Jack paused before letting out a chuckle. "You know, I have so many things to ask I forgot which one in particular I wanted to ask right now."

The lights twinkled around Jack in Sandy's version of a laugh, and Jack lifted his arm so they swirled around his hand. "You're as old as Bunny, right? I mean, it's fun to tease Bunny about being an old man, but..."

Sandy's lights flickered in the affirmative, with a sly hint to them that he was even older than Bunny.

Stars and star pilots, age wasn't really a concept to them, Sandy explained. It was interacting with other species that got them to understand what it meant.

Jack hummed. "What I mean is...I forgot to ask Bunny but...it seems like everyone has some kind of helpers, save Katherine and Nightlight. Are they going to need helpers too? Am I? You have the mermaids, right? And Bunny has his egg sentinels and eggs, Tooth has the Baby Teeth, North has yeti and elves."

Sandy's lights were teasing as he said, _Tooth has her fairies so long as you don't charm them away. You already did one._

Jack chuckled uncomfortably. "Yeah, I'm a little worried about what's happening to Baby Tooth."

 _Don't be. It wouldn't be happening if she hadn't chosen you and the name you gave her of her own free will. You didn't force a change on her,"_ Sandy reassured Jack through his lights, coming over to place small, warm hands on Jack's cool cheeks. _What's happening to her is happening from love. It's something to take joy in, not to fear._

"It won't happen to the other fairies?" Jack asked, the first time he'd given voice to that small fear that had taken root when he'd seen the changes in Baby Tooth, had them pointed out after they'd gotten back to the Pole by Baby Tooth herself.

Sandy was already shaking his head before Jack had finished the question. _Changing like that is hard,_ he was saying, and Jack had to focus to catch the words. _It required dedication and willpower._

"But...the Little Match Girls..." Jack said. "They changed so easily..."

Sandy floated back a touch. The shapes now were complex, some of them little more than a run of lights, as he spoke, asking how that had happened, how Jack had changed them, maybe they could figure out the why if Jack would explain the how.

"Right," Jack said. "Heh, come to talk about relationships and end up with this..."

Sandy tapped a tiny foot, and Jack waved. "Yeah, yeah, getting there. It's been awhile, okay? Um, they started really showing up after the story was published, I think it might have given them form? I'm a little sketchy on that, people never really explained to me how spirits are formed or how they end up what they are. Right, so, I think a lot of them were another spirit that got changed over to Little Match Girls. But as things got better and fewer kids died in the snow from neglect, there were fewer and fewer of them, until it's really rare for there to be one. And I...I felt bad for them, okay? They were even more alone than I was.

"And I...I dunno, I started taking care of them. You know, big brother stuff. You eating okay, here's someplace to sleep, here's what I know about taking care of yourself out here. And I guess they must've gotten some of my power somehow? All I know is they started to look less ragged and desperate and more like healthy kids then one day they were all grown up into Snow Maidens. It's not that much better but it's a lot more comfortable."

Sandy frowned, a small foot tapping as the thought, before he lit up, one finger in the air. He began speaking quickly, lights flickering a flashing like a Christmas display.

 _You're powerful enough to have helpers, and it looks like you already have them. When you started taking care of the Little Match Girls like that, you must have formed that link. It can mean sharing power, sometimes, and that would explain their evolution into Snow Maidens._ Sandy cupped Jack's chin, smiling at him. _So stop worrying about snitching the Baby Teeth. You've got helpers, it'll keep you from snitching Tooth's by accident._

Jack chuckled at that, reaching up to touch Sandy's hands and hold them in place when Sandy would have pulled back, assuming Jack wanted space. "You're warm," he murmured, louder adding, "Snitching by accident, yeah. Looks like I might have one already," he said, adding, "Baby Tooth, I know you know she's changing more and more, I wish we knew how much she's going to change. What she's going to be."

Sandy shrugged. _No one gets to know what they'll be when they grow up. Worrying over them is part of being grown up. Should be interesting to find out._

Jack chuckled at that, tilting his head further into Sandy's hands. "Mind if I just hand out awhile?" he asked.

Sandy patted the cloud next to him, and Jack leaned against him as Sandy began sending out dreams again. He reached up his hand now and again to add a bit of fun to dreams, and together they drifted.

* * *

For someone who technically only had to work only one night a year, North kept himself busy all year long preparing for it.

There was magic to try, and toys to create, and improvements to the sleigh, and more to be done.

Though there was more magic and little things for his Spice now than there had been just a few years ago, less time spent on Christmas, and though he wouldn't have agreed to it before they'd had Jack, North was seeing the difference.

He was obtuse, but even he could see something this blatant.

North was in his magical workshop – not the one he used for magically creating toys, but the one he used for more theoretical magic that had gone unused for decades – when Jack found him.

Jack perched on the back of a chair and watched as North sorted through bottles and jars, murmuring to himself and as yet unaware that Jack had joined him.

"What'cha doin'?" Jack asked, snickering when North jumped.

North fumbled with the jars and bottles, and Jack paid for his little prank by needing to dive and catch a few that tumbled free.

"Jack! You startle me!" North said, putting the jars and bottles on the worktable. "Am clearing components. Some do not go bad, but some do. Have not checked in long time, would not be surprised if must replace many."

Jack looked into the clear jar he was holding – the other jar and bottle were made of thicker stoneware and opaque – giving it a little swirl before putting it down. "What even are these?" he asked

North looked at the bottle Jack had put down. "That one water from unicorn's pond. Should still be good. Unicorn contributions last long time."

"Um..." Jack said, gesturing at the jar, and North grinned.

"What? You are spirit, yet have trouble believing in unicorn? Works like rest of us, so go unseen. Don't like being bothered often."

"Less that and more, um, how'd you get all this?" Jack asked, not quite sure how to ask the horrible thing that had popped into his head.

"Asked," North said easily. "Do not do evil magic, so have to ask. Taking by force taints components."

Jack sighed. "Okay, just. For a second there, had a really bad feeling. Didn't think you'd do it, but yeah."

"Some do not ask," North agreed, beginning to sort the jars into categories. "Is not good at all. And makes it harder for people who will ask. But not here to talk magic, I think?"

"Hey, it's always interesting," Jack protested. "I don't know many other spirits that use magic besides what they get from being who they are. Well, I don't know many other spirits period but my point still stands."

North laughed. "It is! And I am still curious over contents of pockets. Is folk magic, yes?"

"Yes, is folk magic," Jack laughed. "I didn't have people teaching me. What's this jar?" he asked, picking up one with a metal lid and beginning to pry at the metal.

"Do not open that one!" North shouted, and Jack fumbled the jar, and it slipped out of his hands. North caught it an inch above the ground, lifting it slowly. "Sorry for yell. Contains jinn, old and evil one. Are good ones, but this not one of them." He held up the jar and glared at it. "Do not know how it ended up in here with supplies. Should be in basement, locked away, with warning label. Ah, Katherine was right, am too careless with jars. So frustrating, sometimes."

Jack, meanwhile, was looking at the jar with wide eyes. "A jinn? Isn't that, like, a genie? Wishes and crap?"

"Little different – stories not quite the same," North said, carefully carrying the jar over to the desk and beginning to rummage. "Paper, paper, need to write warning...ah. No, jinn make oath when imprisoned, swear to kill one who release them within first hundred, cannot remember what happens if in second hundred, then wishes in third. Is very dangerous to release jinn – some pretend they are within killing period so they do not have to honor wishes, though is small percent. This one will be safe in..." North paused to calculate, muttering in Russian, and Jack was reminded that, though North still sounded odd at times in English, it wasn't his first language.

If he was this smart in English, who knew how smart he'd be once they switched over to Russian, if Jack's Russian was up to date enough? Or if North's was up to date as well and not so archaic Jack's modern Russian was useless.

"Ah, will be safe in a few years, actually," North finally said. "More time has passed than realized. "Still, glad you did not open."

"Any others I shouldn't open?" Jack asked, eying the desk full of bottles and jars warily.

"Maybe...let me check before do. Can help keep list," North said. "Some are hard to tell when still good."

Jack gave a little hum and perched on the back of the chair to watch.

"Soooooo..." he said after North had opened and inspect a few jars, "Let's court Jack but not tell him anything?"

North had the decency to blush, though it was hard to see under all the hair. "Seemed like good idea," he protested. "Wanted to make marriage into good surprise. Thought you would run if brought up right then. Or refuse. Like did with first taking of oath. Ha, yeti irritated at time over frost damage to floor, then was no water damage at all, fun little prank yes?"

Jack let that one pass – it wasn't really a good prank, and he hadn't meant it to be one, it had just happened. "Marriage isn't supposed to be a surprise," he pointed out instead.

North nodded, setting down the jar he'd been holding, looking down at it as if it held answers instead of the dried plants it did.

"Don't know what I was thinking," he said slowly. "Just...deserved courting. Deserved time to fall in love. Was all so fast. Was so foolish, expecting you to take oath just after meeting us. So arrogant, what were we thinking?"

Jack launched himself off the back of the chair to drape himself over North's shoulders and down his back. "Pretty arrogant," he agreed. He poked at North's cheek as he added, "Good thing you're cute. And mostly earned the arrogance. Like, ninety five percent of it."

North sputtered, flustered, and Jack grinned unrepentantly. He got the impression from the sputtering that it had been a very long time since anyone had called North 'cute'. Or, quite possibly, any other praise for his looks.

Not there wasn't a lot of other stuff to praise when it came to North, but still.

Jack settled himself more firmly across North's back, rubbing his cheek against North's shoulder before resting his chin on that spot. "It's okay. I just wanted to know. We're all good now. What's in that jar?"

North held up the jar, which held strands of something that shimmered with rainbow light, and launched into enthusiastic explanation, sparking a discussion that would last long into the night.

* * *

A/N: Only a day late, not bad considering. We had no power for around 24 hours, and that included 90% of yesterday. A lot of people in my area are looking to not get power back until the weekend, so I guess we're lucky in that we have ours back. Still, meant I had to miss an update. Well, here it is, and enjoy everyone. :) I'm going to go work on getting the house warm.


	51. Chapter 51

Jack was working on digging up all the different ways his potential spice would be courting him, once he let them know he was ready for that, so there wouldn't be any more accidents. It was difficult, since most of them were the last of their kind and there were no other sources of information but them...and they had forgotten or never learned some of it, or the reasons behind it.

More importantly, he was finding out that there were a lot of things they had forgotten to tell him about, or hadn't been ready to. It was a lot to take in, and he was still learning how far he could take a joke on them to lighten it up.

Even if the Baby Teeth had forgiven, he wasn't sure Tooth had completely gotten over the day he gave the girls chocolate-coated espresso beans. He still wasn't entirely over the scare he'd gotten when he'd realized just how much caffeine the beans had and how close he'd come to overdosing the girls by accident himself.

There was a lot to get used to, now that he knew about the marriage. Knew that the Snegurochka were as much his people as North's yeti and elves were his, or Bunny's eggs, or Sandy's mermaids. Tooth's fairies were a bit different, in that they were more her children than her people.

At the moment, Jack was sprawled on his nest in his den, thinking. They had all been clear that Jack didn't have to have a fancy place to live like the big four did, but he was still thinking it over.

He had to explain to the Snow Maidens about the whole helpers thing, and if he had helpers, he should have a place for them to take shelter. Nightlight didn't have a place, and Katherine still lived at Santofff Claussen (though she was starting to think about making her own place, a library tree house for the stories of the world), but neither had people to take care of.

His den wasn't nearly big enough...but he did have a castle down in the Arctic. He could travel to it easily enough...he was going to have to talk to the girls.

Being a Guardian just kept getting more complicated than anyone had thought it would be, with all these parts to it that they took for granted and hadn't realized Jack would have to catch up on.

Add into that all the talks they'd been having, all the little things Jack was learning about them and they about Jack...it had been a full month.

A productive month, but a full and exhausting one.

North's random pile of stuff and Bunny's Closet of Doom were starting to get a bit more organized, at least, since it was a good excuse to go over things even they had forgotten, and it had drawn all of them in more than once. It had only scratched the surface of the piles of stuff, since each time they tried to work on cleaning ended in story time, but that was far better than actually getting the stuff cleaned up (and, really, the main reason they were cleaning in the first place).

Thinking of the Closet of Doom reminded Jack that Bunny had mentioned wanting to show him something next time he came by.

Now seemed like as good a time as any.

Plus, they were supposed to have a meeting sooner or later, this time at the Warren in an attempt to keep everyone from always having to go to the Workshop...what day was today?

A tiny hole opened in Jack's floor, and a small painted egg popped out, beginning to prance around the room until Jack scooped it up.

"Just thinking about you," he said, laughing as it kept dancing in his hand. "Guess I lost track of time again. Meeting?"

The egg jumped from his hand to the floor and tapped open a new hole, dancing in place happily.

"Into the rabbit hole we go," Jack said brightly, scooping the egg up again and dropping down into the tunnel.

-XXX-

Tooth was waiting outside Bunny's home when Jack arrived, and Baby Tooth darted forward to perch in his hoodie, just inside the collar, one of her favorite spots where she could cuddle up against his neck.

Jack noticed when she did that thatshe was getting bigger, and if she didn't stop growing she might not fit there much longer.

It was a fleeting thought, and he let it lie as he hugged Tooth tight, kissing her cheek and being kissed in return. He wasn't quite ready for more kisses than that, but the desire was rising, and sooner or later one of them was going to give it a go.

His hand slipped easily into hers as they went in, a gentle level of touch he was very happy to have.

"Where is everyone?" Jack asked, glancing around the empty kitchen. Usually, when they tried meetings at the Warren, they held them 'outside', in the extensive gardens. With all the clutter in the kitchen, it was homey but not a good place for all seven of them.

Bunny said there was a special garden he wanted to show Jack, a Pookan thing, one that was for the marriage, but it wasn't ready yet. He'd had to redo it completely – not because he was putting Jack in, he'd been quick to add, but because when he'd looked at it with eyes to add Jack, it had made him realize how static it was, and how much it needed to change to reflect all of them as they really were.

He'd been almost glowing when he talked about working in the garden, so Jack was willing to take his word for it, and Jack had been interested to notice how he could feel the fun and joy Bunny was feeling when it came to re-doing this garden.

"Well..." Tooth said, hesitating, before smoothing back her feathers with her free hand. "Bunny...he's having a rough day. Realized today is the anniversary of the day he found out he'd never see another Pooka again. Of course, now we're not so sure about that, but I mean, that's not really helping. So we're sort of having the meeting in Bunny's den."

"Wait, den?" Jack asked in surprise as Tooth tugged him farther back into the home, and she paused for a moment before continuing.

"It's one of those things we forgot you didn't know," Tooth said apologetically. "And Bunny keeps secret from most other spirits."

They stepped into what Jack figured must have been Bunny's bedroom at that point, and Jack stopped short.

He'd thought, when he'd first taken the Guardians into his home, they were trying to be nice by complimenting the workmanship on the few pieces of furniture he'd built, the bed he'd made by piling blankets and sheets and pillows (and a few stuffed animals) into a nest in the darkest, comfiest corner, but now...now he was starting to think they hadn't been patronizing him after all.

Tooth's wings buzzed as she hovered next to him, almost nervously, while he looked silently at Bunny's 'bed' – which was basically a bigger version of his own 'nest', with nicer blankets and pillows and larger in size but otherwise the same.

"Well..." he said finally, "that explains why you accepted my nest so easy."

Tooth flowed to hover in front of Jack, reaching for him but hesitating, remembering at the last second how touch shy he still was. He tilted his head into her hand and she rested her open palm against his cheek as she spoke.

"I think it made Bunny a little more comfortable to see that you'd made one," she admitted softly. "I tend to perch on things, or just fall over from exhaustion when I get any sleep at all, and yes I realize how unhealthy that is thank you Jack I do have a bed and should use it more often," he grinned sheepishly as Tooth blushed before continuing, "and North has a human bed, and Sandy can sleep anywhere. But...there are spirits that judge Bunny on how he looks, and if they found out he had a nest, or a den, or that he has one at the Workshop too..."

She didn't have to finish that thought. Bunny may be a highly powerful spirit, but some spirits were vicious.

"So...this is his den?" Jack said instead, looking around. "Funny, that's what I call mine..." he trailed off as Tooth shook her head, fluttering over to where a prettily embroidered cloth was hanging on the wall.

She pulled the cloth to the side, revealing another tunnel, not as large as the hallways in the rest of Bunny's burrow but still big enough for North to enter, should he be willing to get on hands and knees.

"He doesn't like to tell anyone about the real den," Tooth said, gesturing to the tunnel. "It's a Pookan thing, and he's sensitive about it."

Jack mouthed an 'oh', holding his staff closer. Trying to get Bunny to explain anything about his people was nearly impossible, and Tooth nodded when their eyes met.

This was private, and Jack silently promised he was going to keep it private.

"He told us once the den was for the youngest, mostly," she said, quiet again. "So they would stay warm and safe and couldn't crawl off until they were properly mobile. And that families would share them sometimes, even after the kits were too old to need it, just for the comfort."

"It's that bad today, huh? We're holding the meeting in there?" Jack asked softly, holding his staff close with his free hand.

"I'm not sure it really counts as a meeting anymore," Tooth said, just as softly.

Jack nodded slowly. "Guess this won't fit," he said, shaking his staff a little and nodding towards the wall, where Nightlight's staff was already leaning.

"If you don't want to," Tooth began, about to reassure Jack. He looked at his staff again as she began to speak and took a deep breath, cutting her off by leaning his staff against the wall next to Nightlight's.

It took him a moment to let go of the staff, his hand tightening on the wood for a moment before letting go, fingers trailing over the wood as he drew his hand away.

He'd put the staff down around the Guardians before, and he trusted them, he just...hadn't let it out of his sight since the day Pitch had broken it.

Jack hesitated again before letting out another breath and turning to Tooth. "Let's do this thing," he said, hopping up into the tunnel and deliberately ignoring the way Tooth was looking at him, not sure he was ready at the moment to deal with it.

The tunnel was small, small enough Jack was surprised North had made it through, and shorter than Jack had first thought it would be.

The den at the end of the tunnel was large – large enough to hurt once it hit Jack why Bunny must have dug it so big, considering it was meant to trap and preserve body heat from the whole family.

Still, it was a good thing now that it was so big, or both North and Bunny might not have fit at the same time.

North was already here, leaning against one of the smooth walls of the den, with Bunny sprawled across his lap. Sandy, Katherine, and Nightlight were draped on and around them, mostly Bunny, and the room was already warm, mostly from North who was a living furnace.

The floor was thickly cushioned, and could barely been seen under all the pillows and blankets that made up the furnishings of the den.

At regular intervals around the walls, scarce but there, were the lights Bunny used in his home. They looked like strawberry groundcherries, with their large, orange, paper lantern appearance, only these held light not seeds. The lights in these were dim, providing only just enough to see by, and that light was brightened by the glow from Sandy and Nightlight.

For a moment, Jack balked. For all he was a Guardian now, for all they'd all proved again and again that they did want him here (despite the lie, which had in the end been meant to keep him), this felt...intimate. Not sexually, but still, more than Jack had gotten yet, more than he had been given or been ready for yet.

He stopped, crouched just to the side of the entrance, as Tooth crawled over to the group. The ceiling in here was tall enough for walking, but the floor would make it difficult.

Katherine opened her eyes, woken from her doze by the movement, and looked over at Jack. She made a soft sound, sleepy and questioning, as Jack continued to hesitate.

He wanted to be part of them, was working towards it...this just felt like...a big step.

And now that he was on the verge of it, what had sounded like a tiny step had suddenly turned into a cliff, and he wasn't sure the wind was going to catch him.

Katherine lifted her head, and Nightlight opened his eyes, blinking slowly as he surfaced from his doze, and Jack huffed out a laugh at himself.

Everything he wanted was being served up on a silver platter, and he was hesitating.

Jack crawled over and joined the pile, leaning against Bunny and feeling arms drape around him, reaching out to hold onto whoever was closes in turn, and settled in, warmed inside and out.

-XXX-

Jack stood outside his ice palace, in the courtyard, his hand on his hip and staff planted firmly beside him as he studied it.

Nightlight was looking around the upper levels, still on the outside, and Sandy was drifting through the inside, his golden glow shimmering through the walls.

It was a very pretty effect, like seeing fairy lights through crystal, and Jack was already wondering how he could recreate it later.

He had brought up his thoughts about the Snegurochka at the meeting (which they'd held after they had all woken up from their nap, which had taken some time thanks to the warmth and a general reluctance to move from the cuddles), his worries about needing to provide them a permanent home and a base like the other Guardians technically had...well, most of them.

The idea of renovating the ice palace had been met with enthusiasm, and North had been ready to draw up plans then and there.

Well, he needed to know what it looked like now before he could do that, or Jack was going to end up with something that North thought he would like but wasn't what Jack wanted.

Actually, Jack had a feeling that if he didn't get his own plans started, so he could let the other Guardians help him with them after he'd settled on some of the basics, he was going to walk into a competition on who could come up with the best ice palace ideas.

Considering how quickly they'd slipped into a race when it came to the tooth collection, it wouldn't have been a surprise.

And Jack didn't mind turning part of it into a game – he just needed to make sure he ended up with something useful. Plus, he could do with some help making sure other spirits could visit him. It was why Nightlight and Sandy were the ones helping him now – the cold didn't bother them.

But it would bother the other Guardians, and while Jack could keep people from feeling the cold for awhile, the way he did for Jamie and the other Burgess kids on that fateful night, it didn't last long enough or for enough spirits to make it possible to even do something like having a Guardians meeting here.

He'd wanted to show the Guardians the palace, but each time he'd worried about the temperature. He knew Bunny, at least, didn't like the cold, given the way he complained about not being able to feel his feet each time he came up outside the Workshop.

Well, that was one thing Jack was going to change about the ice palace, and the others could help come up with ideas for how he was going to do that. Let that be the challenge they set for themselves, that and coming up with new ideas.

The old palace he'd made had been more like a sand castle that he could go inside than a real building, something he'd been making to pass the time.

...maybe, if he did this right, they could do the Guardian oath again. This time, with him knowing exactly what it was he was agreeing to.

For a moment, his mind drifted off to thoughts of weddings. Pretty lights and flowers and promises and...Jack startled himself out o fit. He'd never even considered weddings before, let alone for himself, heck he'd barely even dared hope for friends at some low points.

Getting a bit ahead of yourself, there, Jack scolded himself with a laugh. And getting ahead of yourself with your plans for this place, the Guardians will love whatever you do, they just want you to love it.

One thing he knew, he was going to have to hit up the yeti for fabric. The Snow Queen's palace had been cold and stark white, and while he was going to mostly use ice and snow, he wanted his palace as different from hers as possible. Cushions, tapestries, rugs...really wasn't a way to put a fireplace in, maybe something like the crystals he wanted to give a go at?

Needed an ice rink, ooo a slide would be great, maybe a short one there and bigger one from the top of a tower?

Jack floated up to sit on the wall surrounding the courtyard – was going to need to redo that, too, it wasn't his best effort – and dug out a little notepad from the deep depths of his hoodie pocket to jot down ideas.

He barely noticed when Nightlight and Sandy drifted down to join him, sandwiching him on the wall and watching as he wrote and sketched.

But somehow, they still ended up draped all over each other, with Jack against Nightlight's chest and Sandy draped over their legs, as Jack wrote it all down.


	52. Chapter 52

Jack had been staring at the various designs the other Guardians had come up with for his ice palace for who knew how long now, but he wasn't seeing them.

Which was frustrating, because the other Guardians has some really interesting ideas and Jack really, really wanted to see what he could incorporate into his new ice palace once he'd finished tearing down the old. Though some of them were pretty impractical – yes, Bunny, eggs were nice but a bit inappropriate for an ice palace.

But Jack's mind kept slipping back to what the palace was starting to represent – all of them, together, and the marriage.

They were all being so patient with him, waiting for Jack to take the next step.

And he was ready to! But...who did he start with? Someone had to get the first gesture of courtship, even if he went out right after to another and another.

Of course, he could always just let it happen, but...for the first time...ugh.

This was supposed to be fun, not stressful.

With that thought, Jack left the designs – they were up on a bulletin board North had designated for them, up out of the reach of the elves, ready for him whenever he wanted to work on them – and took off out the window.

Time to see where the wind took him and make a few visits.

* * *

Bunny squinted as he focused on the egg. Just a touch more...careful now or it would smudge...and...there!

Easter may not have been for a few months yet, but it didn't do to let himself get out of practice on the painting, no matter how long he'd been doing this for. The Warren may have done the majority of the painting, with the Color River and the paint plants and pattern vines, but having eggs with the personal touch was what made it special.

Sometimes, he wasn't sure the others – especially North – got it, given how often the two of them wrangled over their holidays. Then the gumby would go and do something like giving him a new set of paints he was trying out he thought Bunny might like, just because.

Smiling, Bunny let the egg down, watching as it scampered off. He liked days like this, quiet and peaceful, but he hadn't realized how much he'd missed the noise and chaos that came from his Spice.

Another thing to be thankful for, he supposed, cleaning his brushes. He hadn't been thrilled when Manny told them to include Jack...a bit of an understatement...but at least no one had been trying to make him eat those words.

He was bending to reach for another egg when he froze, ears stiffening and twitching.

A noise, something quiet, someone in the Warren who didn't want him to know they were in the Warren.

None of the alarms had gone off, the sentinels were at ease, was he hearing things?

Then there was a faint scent, fresh snow and crisp air, and Bunny had just a split second to register what he smelled before a cold someone was on his back.

"Hey, Bunny~" Jack laughed in a sing song. Bunny didn't bother hiding his smile, not that Jack could see it as he buried his face in the fur between Bunny's shoulder blades.

"Heya, Snowflake," Bunny said as Jack slid off his back. "What's...shakin'..." he said, faltering and trailing off as Jack began walking around him, staff yoked across his shoulders.

One circle. Two. With a giant grin, one that was shy and shaky around the edges.

If Bunny could have blushed, he would have been redder than his tulips. "Ah...Jackie?"

Jack's cheeks were sparkling with frost, but he leaned forward to peck Bunny on the nose. "Run," he whispered.

Bunny blinked twice before a grin spread across his face. He looked questioningly at Jack, who nodded.

"Oh, you don't want to race a rabbit, mate," he said, and leapt.

Bunny could hear Jack whooping behind him and put on an extra burst of speed. That was the whole point of a courting run, both of them showing off how fast they were, how agile, and it was a surprise that it had lasted given the Pooka attitude towards romance and not replaced by a questionnaire or something.

Then again, every Pooka needed a chance to run.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the stretch of muscles, the earth beneath his feet, the air ruffling his fur.

Then it was the debate between too slow and too fast, while he needed, wanted, to show off, well, it wasn't any good as a courtship run if Jack didn't catch him at the end.

Bunny glanced back and let out a surprised squeak, putting on a burst of speed in shock at how close Jack was to him.

They leapt off rocks, bounded over flowerbeds, racing through the Warren at top speed.

Then Bunny made the mistake of looking back again, slowing down the barest fraction, and faltering when he didn't see Jack.

Who struck from above.

The two of them went rolling, though this time they were far from the Color River, with no chance of another mood-ruining dip as they'd had so long ago.

Jack landed on top, straddling Bunny's waist, flushed and laughing. He leaned down and nipped at the tip of an ear, making Bunny's laughter falter.

"Just so we're clear, that was totally meant as a courting run," Jack said, cheeks still flushed but more confident now.

Bunny rested a hand on Jack's shoulder, urging him down until they could rub noses, bumping and rubbing cheeks.

Jack slid down after a few minutes of nuzzling to rest his head on Bunny's ruff, and the two lay there peacefully content and silently brimming with joy. There was a soft rumbling, and Jack lifted his head to look at Bunny, half asleep.

"Is that you?" he asked, making a face. "Ack, fur in my mouth," he added, wiping his face and dislodging the offending piece of fur.

The sound faltered, and Bunny raised his head. "Huh, been a long time since I did that," he mumbled. "Th' fur a problem?"

"Nah," Jack said, burying his face in Bunny's ruff again and rubbing his face in it for a second. "Just took me off guard. What was that?"

Bunny's ears flickered in mild embarrassment. " 's purring," he mumbled. "Been awhile."

Jack's face lit up, beaming with joy, though he played if off. "Aw, you do like me," he said.

" 'm literally courtin' ya, ya showpony," Bunny mumbled, more fondly, raising a hand to run it over Jack's hair.

Jack leaned into the caress, eyes closed but still beaming. "You like-like me," he teased.

Bunny snorted softly. "Never gonna understand some o' your slang. Guess we're even on that."

"Guess we are," Jack agreed.

The two laid like that for a while longer, though it was hard to say just how long. Time was hard to keep track of in the Warren, with its gentle breezes and soft sunlight and drowsy atmosphere (when it wasn't geared up for Easter).

Eventually Bunny stirred. Jack hummed, lifting his head. "Need to get back to work?" he asked.

"Probably," Bunny answered. "Wanna show you something first, come on."

Jack floated up from his sprawl across Bunny a little reluctantly, watching with interest as Bunny rolled over and stretched.

Bunny glanced over his shoulder at Jack and caught him staring. Bunny winked at him as Jack blushed, frosting so hard it spiked his hair more than usual, and set off at a gentle lope.

As they got farther into the Warren, Jack started to see small golden flowers, sprinkled among the rest. He wasn't sure what they were called – he wasn't up to date on his flowers despite courting the Avatar of Spring – though as the patches got bigger he started seeing more he knew.

They were planted in graceful swirls, gradually growing larger as the two of them followed them along, and it took a minute for the shape to click in Jack's mind, since they were at first very simple swirls.

But as there were more of them, it clicked. Golden swirls of flowers, that were suspiciously close to the shape of Sandy's swirls of Dreamsand.

Jack nearly said something a half dozen times, unable to find the words and unwilling to let the question come out sounding like unintentional snark.

The swirls lead down a tunnel that was half hidden with evergreens, the first Jack had seen within the Warren.

Bunny looked back at Jack again, almost nervously, before ducking down the tunnel.

Jack had to land to follow, following the light the streamed around Bunny's form from the other end of the tunnel.

Bunny stepped to the side and let Jack step out into the new garden, and Jack's breath caught.

It didn't hit Jack what the garden meant, just that it was beautiful. Evergreens and graceful willows and cherry trees and more mingled, their branches shadowing graceful benches and tables, inviting one to sit down and enjoy the garden. There were patches of flowers everywhere, with paths wandering through them and the trees, and the air was heavy with their scent.

Jack turned to Bunny, who was waiting almost anxiously for his opinion. "Bunny, this is amazing!" he said. "This is the one you were working on, right?"

Bunny nodded. "It's a Marriage Garden," he said, paws fidgiting. "Pooka, the ones good with plants, they made gardens to represent the people they chose as mates. Full of flowers and plants that made them think of their mates. But, well, I just figured...I hadn't been in here for far too long. Then I had ta redo th' whole thing. Not 'cuz of you," he added quickly when Jack began to tense, "but 'cuz...I had it in name but...it wasn't right. Not anymore. Everyone was too separate. Too formal. So I redid it all ta be us. Yer the first ta see the new garden."

Jack gave a silent "oh" before looking over the gardens again with this new information in mind.

The swirls were for Sandy, then, and spreading throughout the garden, radiating out from the section that must have been Sandy's. And he could see how each overlapped, how flowers from a section he thought stood for each of them sprang up in everyone's sections.

Jack reached over for Bunny, taking his hand. "Well, that makes it even better. How about giving me the grand tour? I don't know what half of these are. Is that one for Tooth?" He asked, pointing at a random flower that was hanging in clusters over the stream that meandered through the garden, supported by an arch.

Bunny chuckled. "Nah, mate, that's a jade vine – best be careful, they're real picky about bein' cold. Can't take the frost at all. That's fer Katherine – it's real pretty but people overlook it a lot. Course, she can take a bit o' frost, unlike the vine. It's in Tooth's section 'cuz it needs the warm."

"Huh. Well, what about that one?"

* * *

A few hours and snacks later, Jack took to the sky again, still buzzing with joy.

The courting circling and chase had been a spur of the moment decision, something that just felt right in the moment, but it had paid off better than Jack had dreamed.

He floated along, thinking. Looked like he'd started courting the others, then. Cat's out of the bag, Jack like-likes us back.

May as well take advantage of the moment and surprise the others, let them have a moment like Bunny did instead of wondering why Jack hadn't made a move on them yet, Jack decided.

Tooth's palace was closest – looked like Tooth was next.

* * *

Tooth was, unsurprisingly, in her command center when Jack spotted her. He paused in midair, considering for a moment.

So Tooth liked mating flights, lots of display. Right. Could she see out here?

Well, he could see her, so she could probably see him.

Better make the entrance good, then.

With a grin, Jack dove, faster and faster until he couldn't hear anything over the scream of the wind in his ears, pulling up at the last second to flash past the shocked Tooth, ruffling her feathers and sending several Baby Teeth tumbling with the wind in his wake, leaving them laughing and gasping as they recovered.

It took Jack time to slow down, so he spent that time in gymnastics, somersaults and loop the loops until he had lost the momentum of his dive.

He began to float back down toward the ice palace, and Tooth met him halfway.

She was fluttering her hands, and Jack decided to answer the question she obviously wanted to ask but wasn't sure if she should.

"It was," he said with a wink. He could feel the frost forming on his cheeks but soldiered forward, leaning in towards Tooth. "Want to join me?"

Tooth flushed, a thrilled smile spreading across her face as her eyes lit up. With a giggle, she was off, and Jack let out a "Whoa!" before shooting after her.

The two of them looped and spun across the sky, only smoothing out their flights long enough to watch the other. It was very like the flight they had shared once before, before General Winter and the Snow Queen, but this time, they both knew and were participating eagerly.

The two of them spiraled up into the air, laughing and joyous, spiraling tighter and tighter until they could have reached out and touched each other.

Finally worn out, the caught a passing cloud and settled onto it, watching the water go by down below.

After a moment Jack reached out and took Tooth's hand, leaning against her, and she leaned back.

""We should pull Nightlight and Sandy into one of these," Jack said softly.

Tooth let out a coo, wings fluttering for a moment. Then she blushed, giggling at herself. "We should," she agreed simply. The two sat leaning against each other again, watching the sunset over the ocean.

"Thank you," Tooth said softly, unwilling to break the moment. "I was afraid to make the first move."

Jack lifted their joined hands to kiss hers. " 's why I'm doing it," he said. "Not sure what I'll do for Sandy and Nightlight, though. North is going to be hard too, he really can be oblivious sometimes."

Tooth giggled. "I know there's a lot you don't like about the party, but did you hear about what happened between Zeus and North?" she asked. "The fairies saw it and told me everything."

Jack's eyes lit up. "Tell me more, tell me more," he sang, and Tooth giggled again before leaning in close, launching into the story of Zeus' perverseness versus North's wall of obliviousness.


	53. Chapter 53

Jack hadn't been exaggerating what he said to Tooth – Sandy didn't have courtship things like Tooth and Bunny, but he also didn't recognize romantic gestures like Jack hoped Katherine and possibly North would. Nightlight was going to be the same problem. North could be oblivious, so that was going to be difficult...unless Jack did something like announce he was being flirty right before he did.

Annoying pretty Guardians, why did it have to be so confusing to court some of them?

Flying over one of they bayous in Louisiana on his leisurely search for Sandy, Jack spotted movement down below and paused.

A shadow moved between the trees, and Jack hovered indecisively for a moment before diving down.

He wouldn't attack, he promised himself. He'd promised to remember he had backup now. He was just going to see, Elephant's Child that he was.

Jack perched in a tree, straining to see in the dimness. Then one of the shadows moved, and Jack stared at it until he began to make out the outline of a spirit.

"Pitch!" he said, a tone between surprised happiness and wariness. "What're you doing out here?"

There was an irritated huff from the shadows, a pair of golden eyes blinking open.

"Come on, don't be like that!" Jack encouraged when Pitch didn't come out.

The golden eyes rolled, and Pitch emerged from the shadows, sliding out in swirls of darkness.

Jack tilted his head, watching. "I'll give it a six," he said. "You're pretty obviously just dialing it in, but you're you so it's still pretty creepy."

Pitch huffed again, but Jack could still see him preen. "What do you want, Frost?" he demanded irritably.

"Whoa, someone wake up on the wrong side of the coffin?" Jack teased. "You disappeared real quick after the Snow Queen debacle, never got to say thanks or ask what gave."

"Don't mention it," Pitch drawled. "No, really, it's bad enough enough spirits were involved with that as there were. Don't you have some of that precious light of yours to be spreading?"

Jack shrugged carelessly. "Can't do much right now, most places are inching out of winter. Not much I can do when it's getting too warm for frost to stick around long enough for kids to see it. Why, you trying to get away with something?"

Pitch sniffed. "Don't flatter yourself. Guardian or not, if I wanted to do something, you couldn't stop me. But as it happens, there's a sleepover nearby full of children far too young for the horror movie they're watching. So. Do we fight?"

Jack tilted his head. "Seems to me nightmares after watching a too-scary horror film is sort of par for the course. Look, I'm not gonna interfere unless you're going too far, like you did Easter 2012. I mean, kidnapping the tooth fairies is just low."

"I'm so glad you approve," Pitch drawled, sarcasm almost painfully obvious. "Now, if you're done lording over me the fact that I've gone from the most powerful spirit in the world to frightening children at slumber parties, the movie will be over soon, and I have atmosphere to create."

Jack rolled his eyes and got ready to launch. "You know, play your cards right, make the dreams both scary _and_ fun, and I bet you'll get horror fans for life who like getting scared," he pointed out. "Like you keep pointing out, it's not the dark ages anymore. Some people actually like getting scared now. Missing a big opportunity there buddy."

With that last shot, Jack was off, leaving Pitch watching after him thoughtfully before disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

Jack floated along the sky, thinking over the encounter with Pitch. He knew, vaguely, what Pitch had done before Jack had been born – most of it a long, long time before that, before Pitch had made it to Earth and the things he done that meant he and the Guardians had to fight and he'd retreated in absolute defeat.

Seemed like he'd been acting differently ever since then, and even the Guardians agreed. They were always waiting for him to revert, but he hadn't yet.

Even Easter of 2012 hadn't been like he'd once been – yes, he'd wanted the children to stop believing in the Guardians, but it had, according to his own admission, been so that people would believe in him instead.

The Pitch of the end of the Golden Era wouldn't have cared about that.

He'd brought up 'other ways to snuff out a light', but other than that, none of them had seen a fearling since the Great Battle either.

It made Jack wonder. The man Pitch had been, before he'd been changed to Pitch Black, was gone forever, but maybe...

Well. Maybe was going to have to wait a little longer, but it was something to think about.

For now, Jack could see Sandy's golden glow in the distance, and he flipped over, changing from his languid float into a steady pace that could catch up to the Sandman.

Sandy turned to Jack as he approached, golden streams wrapping around Jack briefly in greeting as they made their way down to the waiting children below.

Jack landed lightly on the cloud, going with his first impulse and leaning down to peck Sandy on the cheek.

Sandy froze, and Jack stifled giggles at the exclamation point over Sandy's head.

"What? You've seen me do that before. You've gotten some of those before too," Jack said when the giggles had cooled.

Sandy cocked his head, looking at Jack flirtatiously. _Not often,_ he said in light and Star. _I like kisses_.

He fluttered his eyes at Jack. _Are you ready to do courting now? We can do kisses now?_

Jack burst out laughing in earnest, dying down to giggles as strands of Dreamsand began wrapping around him like a hug, coaxing him closer to Sandy. "Yes, I started courting," he said through giggles, frost covering his face and hoodie. "Yes, we can have kisses now."

Anything else Jack was about to say was cut off when Sandy's surprisingly warm lips met his, and began the most giggly make out session of Jack's life.

Sandy was so warm, not warm like North was, North who was a living furnace, but like...once, when he'd been young, and mortal, Jack had imagined what it would be like to embrace a star. That was the warmth Sandy had, soft and warm and so pretty.

Jack had to pull back, before things got a bit more heated than he was ready for.

Sandy pulled back as well, a blush sparkling along his cheeks as he flickered out an apology, one that was waved off. He did stop the second he felt Jack start to pull back, after all.

Jack ran a hand through his hair, dislodging bits of frost and ice, laughing softly. "That escalated quickly," he said, shaking his head.

Sandy grinned sheepishly, lights flickering. _"Felt like you started it with me when you played with my sand before,"_ he said, sending out a strand to brush against Jack's cheek. _"There weren't really courting rituals among Stars and Star Pilots – we just flickered at each other until we were close enough for anything else. I let the others have their rituals and go along for the ride."_

Jack chuckled and, unable to resist, leaned forward to brush a kiss against the very willing Sandy's cheek.

He shifted until he was settled on the Dreamsand cloud, one leg dangling off the side as he leaned against Sandy.

Jack lifted a hand, trailing it through the closest stream, watching with a soft, besotted smile as rabbits and fairies spun out of the sand, dancing around each other in their glittering coat of frost before following the stream down to a child below.

"It's kind of funny," he said quietly, watching the streams soar through the sky. "Three hundred years, and I wanted one person to notice me. I never really dared to dream about having a family. I never thought I find one like this.

I never thought I'd be this happy."

Sandy sat down beside Jack, cuddling against his side as one of Jack's arms slid around him, and together the two drifted through the sky.

* * *

As the two drifted, Jack spotted Kailash down below, and he brushed a kiss over Sandy's cheek before slipping off the cloud to go investigate.

Kailash gave a sleepy honk as Jack landed, reaching out to ruffle his hair with her beak and groom the ruffled locks as Jack laughed.

Satisfied, Kailash went back to her doze as Jack looked across the meadow. He didn't see Katherine until he leaned around the tree that was providing shadow for Kailash to nap in, finding Katherine on the other side. She was leaning against the trunk, a book in her lap and Nightlight in the branches overhead.

Katherine was writing, her pen moving along the page with many pauses as she searched for the right word, lifted to her mouth to nibble on the end as the thought.

"I know you're back there, Jack," Katherine said, tapping the pen on the edge of her book.

Jack slipped around the tree, fake pouting. "Aw, what gave me away?" he said, unable to contain his grin.

Even after...how long had it been now? Two years, three? Time was strange when you were immortal...hearing someone acknowledge him still sometimes gave Jack a thrill after so many years of being ignored.

"Kailash is a better guard than people give her credit for," Katherine said, turning to look up at Jack as he dropped to the ground next to her. "What's up?"

Jack grinned. "You're picking up slang fast," he said. "And...I might be getting a little start on some courting," he added, offering a frost flower to a suddenly blushing Katherine.

She took the flower, giving it a little twirl between her fingers. "You are, are you?" she said, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

"Yep," Jack answered happily. "Though I really don't know what to do for you or Nightlight or Sandy or North...so like, most of the Guardians," he said, laughing at himself.

Katherine and Nightlight joined him as Katherine continued to play with the flower, marveling at how it hadn't yet melted despite being held for so long. "Just don't over think it," Katherine advised Jack, tucking the flower into his hair to prevent it melting. ""We don't want to miss out on anything because you thought you had to do something special to win us over."

Jack hummed softly. "What're you writing?" he asked, leaning over to glance at Katherine's book. "Is this one of the magic ones?"

Katherine laughed softly, in a way that invited Jack to see the joke with her. "They all are, in a way. But no, this one's more of a notebook. I've been trying to track all our stories, since they've changed since Nightlight and I have been gone. And yours, too, it's never been written, and there's a lot I know you haven't told us yet."

She looked over at Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Care to get started on fixing that?"

"I don't know where to start," Jack protested as Nightlight floated down to join them under the tree.

"Try the beginning," Katherine urged. "Whichever beginning you feel comfortable with."

Jack looked out on the bright meadow for a minute, his mind three hundred years away. "Darkness," he said finally. "That's the first thing I remember. It was dark, and it was cold, and I was scared.

But then...then I saw the moon."

* * *

Jack didn't get through all three hundred years. There was just too much to go through for all of it to get through in one session...and not even Katherine would be able to write it all down in one go.

That, and they kept getting sidetracked. Jack didn't mind.

It almost felt freeing, to finally talk about those years that were spent mostly alone, though as he spoke about them, it was beginning to be clear that there were times when he hadn't been alone.

True, he'd had the tricksters, and for the last hundred years there had been the Snegurochka, but the problems there were that a group of – or, to be fair, even just two – tricksters couldn't be together for more than a few hours without things developing the chance of getting out of hand.

And the Snegurochka had still to develop the ability to do more than small magics, and leaving the snow was still unthinkable for ninety nine percent of them.

They had managed the party, but that had been a few hours at most, with frequent breaks to go outside into the cold.

The point remained that Jack hadn't been completely alone those three hundred years, even if it had felt like it at times.

It wasn't that they were getting stuck on, but the little ways Jack had been interacting with the children during those years they hadn't believed in him.

Bunny wasn't the only one who hadn't known about Jack leading children home. Jack wasn't surprised about that – as he pointed out when Katherine expressed frustration that it wasn't in his story, he'd had to be subtle about it.

The kids couldn't see him, couldn't hear him, wouldn't have known anyone was trying to help him if he'd tried to make sure they'd known who it was. Getting them home was more important.

He told stories of building snowmen outside the homes of kids who couldn't go outside, of leaving pictures in frost, things that Jamie and his friends had started taking pictures of.

Which led to discussion of the internet, how the Burgess kids were using it to spread belief and change the stories about all of them.

The discussion may have been long, and rambling, but for them, it was in its own way a courtship.

And it was, Jack and Katherine and Nightlight all silently decided, something that they needed to do often, this sleepy, long discussion that rambled and tumbled as easily as a brook through the woods, with long notes in Katherine's book for later stories.

-XXX-

The trio ended up falling asleep under that tree, in a tumbled pile. Jack was the first to wake, and after a few minutes of luxuriating in the cuddles inched his way out from under them.

The other two woke soon after, a slow, gentle drift to consciousness as they realized Jack was missing.

They eased up, used to waking in each other's company, looking around for Jack.

Katherine gasped and Nightlight lit up as they saw the ring of flowers surrounding them, delicate frost shapes that frost rabbits were frolicking between. Katherine reached out to touch one of the flowers and it burst into snowflakes under her hand.

A chuckle reached them from overhead, and they looked up to find Jack in the branches above, one leg dangling and his staff over his shoulder.

"Glad you woke up, they won't last much longer in this warmth," he said quietly. "They don't last long when touched, either. But they're pretty."

"They are," Katherine agreed as Nightlight took to the air, floating up to join Jack in the tree. "They're beautiful, Jack. Is this one of the things you used before?"

"Heh. Well, it got Jamie to believe, that Easter," Jack said, one of the rabbits floating up to brush against his hand. "I dunno, just figured...well."

"Yeah," Katherine said understandingly.

Jack paused again, looking as though he were debating something before speaking. "I know...I know Pitch is kind of a...hard topic, but...he's been acting...well..."

"Softer?" Katherine supplied. "Different? It was a few hundred years ago, the last time we saw him before the party and...everything else."

Jack hummed, quiet for a moment, before summing up the encounter he'd had with Pitch before he'd found Sandy.

"It just makes me wonder," he finished.

"...me too," Katherine said thoughtfully. "Me too..."


	54. Chapter 54

Katherine eventually stood, citing a need to get back to Santoff Claussen, where she had taken up residence in her old rooms until she could decide if she would stay there for good or find a place of her own.

But for right now, she needed to get back and begin to sort out the stories Jack had told her. Sooner or later, she need to find a way to put the stories out there, to build up belief in Jack as an individual – and she had an idea that she may try speaking to the Burgess kids, who had started it all with their internet postings, as something new to try.

The three of them flew together, but as Katherine bid them goodbye and swooped down towards the Big Tree, Nightlight hesitated.

Jack sidled over, quite the trick while in the air, and bumped into him gently. "Go for a flight?" he asked softly.

Nightlight blinked at him slowly before a smile stretched his face and he took off, leaving a laughing Jack to catch up.

They burst through the clouds, up above them where the world was bright with the moon reflected off the top of the clouds, white below and dark blue above and the stars glittering down on them like diamonds as they spun and dipped, spiraled around each other and laughed with unbridled joy.

Nightlight shone in the light, his own glow matching it and making him seem a star fallen to earth, while the light reflected off Jack's hair and skin until he nearly seemed to glow as brightly as Nightlight.

They danced across the sky until they finally settled on a cloud, out of breath and beaming with joy.

Suddenly remembering the scene in Jamie's room, when they'd ended up cuddling while reading to the kids, Jack nudged Nightlight.

"I've been so oblivious," he said, laughing, before leaning against Nightlight. "Sorry it took so long."

The flickering Nightlight sent back at that was complicated, a mix of _'Why would you think I was flirting'_ and _'You were alone for a long time it's no wonder'_ and _'You know now'_.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know now," Jack said, scooting and gently pushing at Nightlight until he had them arraigned to his liking – with Nightlight reclining on the cloud, and Jack leaning against him, Jack's back to Nightlight's chest. "Yeah. Did not appreciate this the first time."

Nightlight giggled and buried his face in Jack's hair, wrapping his arms around Jack as they leisurely floated through the sky.

* * *

North was practicing with his sabers when Jack arrived at the Pole, down in the sparring gym that one of the yeti had guided him to.

Jack had to stop for a moment to appreciate it. Every time he thought he'd seen everything the Pole had to offer, there was something new to find.

The room was large, probably so they could all practice in it at once if they had to, to get used to fighting together. Something they'd probably have to do sometime now that Katherine and Nightlight were back and they had him, Jack thought.

The walls could have been anything, under all the padding. Probably a good idea, considering how they would be practicing to fight. The floor was covered in a thick layer of something that gave underfoot, and Jack wasn't sure what it was beyond gentler on someone taking a tumble than wood or stone would have been.

On section of the wall near the doors was full of hanging weaponry, and Jack had to stifle a giggle at the thought of what people thought of jolly old St. Nick versus the reality of the man who owned all those weapons.

At the moment, North was the only one in the room. He had his sabers in hand – blunted practice ones, Jack could tell even from here, though they would be just as heavy as the real ones and would still hurt to be hit by – and was going through a strenuous routine.

It was one North had been doing for awhile, if the sheen of sweat was anything to go by. After all, North was built more like a barbarian weightlifter than the 'bowl full of jelly' he was called. There was strength under that layer of fat, stronger than people gave North credit for.

Jack was willing to bet he was a touch out of practice, given the way North and the other Guardians had focused on their holidays and ignored everything else and the way North was focusing now, as if he had once done this as easily as breathing but had to remind his body of the moves.

Either way, Jack was very much enjoying the show now. Especially the part that meant North had gotten hot at some point and discarded his shirt, putting his torso on full view of anyone who came in.

Turned out the tattoos weren't just on his arms. Ooh, that one was Bunny's arm markings, wasn't it? Yeah, on his arm, just where Bunny's was, very nice.

There was a lot more hair than Jack had, but then again, there was a lot more of North in general.

Jack sure wasn't complaining.

He glanced over at the wall of weaponry, thinking, before carefully hanging his staff on a hook and taking up a different staff.

It was of roughly the same weight and dimensions, but he didn't have to worry if a stray blow broke this staff.

As North turned with a thrust of swords and a war cry, Jack was there, catching the sabers on his borrowed staff with a smirk.

North faltered, hesitated.

So Jack went on the offensive, swinging the staff high. North countered, almost automatically, still staring at the grinning Jack dumbfounded, before an equally gleeful grin split his face and he fought back.

The two sparred across the room, almost dancing. Jack was quicksilver, slipping and dodging and taking to the air, bursts of frost sparking along his fingers although he was trying not to use it to fight. North was heavier, stronger, surer, the veteran of more fights and more powerful than Jack physically.

Staff and sabers clashed, Jack flipping over North's back only to be met with the swords, barely dodged.

Around and around they went until Jack misjudged, leaning back too far to avoid a saber stroke that North checked, hard, and both stumbled.

Jack tumbled to the mats while North only just kept his feet.

He tripped a second later, catching himself an inch from crushing Jack. The two of them froze, staring at each other, before Jack snickered. A second later he was full out laughing, and North joined in.

North shoved himself to his feet, offering Jack his hand and pulling him to his feet as if he weighed nothing.

North strode over to the side of the room, picking up a mug and filling it with water, offering one to Jack.

"So," Jack said with a wink as he took the mug, "Come down here often?"

North winced, and moved as if to hide his stomach from Jack.

Jack blinked for a few seconds in surprise. He'd never through of North as being body shy or ashamed of anything. If anybody was, he always figured it would be him, comparing his own skinny self to North's healthy bulk or Tooth's colors or Sandy's glow or...the list was cut off abruptly as Jack realized how long they'd been quiet.

"Hey," Jack said, setting down the staff and automatically trying to balance on it. This staff wobbled under him, not his usual staff and so the balance was different, the way to balance off, and it took a second to get it right, a few seconds North watched avidly, openly curious about how Jack managed that gymnastic feat.

Now that Jack was roughly at eye level with North and the staff was balanced, he tried again. "Hey," he repeated. "Um..." he paused, searching for the words. The right ones were refusing to come to him, and he didn't want to make this worse, especially if he was reading things wrong.

Screw it.

"You know we think you're ridiculously attractive, right?" he said.

He was rewarded with a blush spreading across the parts of North's face he could see and down his chest.

"Is very nice, what you say," North said, one hand hovering over his belly. "But..."

"No, really," Jack persisted. "Like, everyone knows, don't they, that the really strong guys have a nice layer over the muscle for cuddling? That if you can see it real clear it's probably not that useful?" He leaned forward, the staff dropping out from under him.

North let out a surprised, cut off curse of some obscure Russian composer's name, catching Jack before he could do more than begin to fall.

Jack laughed, kicking up one leg as North held him as through he weighed nothing. "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

He sobered, looking up at North, who was looking down at him in a strange mix of confusion and affection. "North. Seriously. I'm trying not to hide from you, so don't hide from us, okay? We like that you're bigger than we are. I love it."

North hesitated. "You...are sure? But am so old, compared to you. And not fit anymore."

"Our big ol' teddybear," Jack said happily. "And age is weird, we're spirits. Am I technically eighteen or three hundred and twenty three? I thought it was by power, not actual age."

"Is true," North agreed, and Jack noticed that North had seemed to have forgotten he was still holding Jack. "Is by power, but a bit by age. Let a spirit get on feet. Still..."

"North," Jack said, so seriously it made North pause. Jack reached up, cupping North's face as he spoke. "I get it. I thought I was too skinny and scrawny and cold for anyone to be interested in. But if you can be interested in me the way I look, then maybe listen when I say I'm interested in you the way you look now, not the way you looked before I knew you? Plus, you know, we all promised not to keep things from each other anymore. So you could let the others know you're feeling a bit uncertain, I'm pretty sure they're going to tell you what I'm telling you now."

Jack yelped in surprise as the bridal carry was suddenly shifted into a hug, snuggling into it as soon as he'd regained his balance.

He pulled back and pecked North on the lips, giggling as North blushed under the beard, gently pulling free. Jack floated down and picked up the back up staff, walking over to the board to retrieve his own and give North a moment.

Jack turned back, staff yoked over his shoulders and hands draped over it. "Oh, just so you know – I'm so courting all of you. Tooth suggested I make sure you knew that up front so you don't miss it like you did Zeus' flirting."

North tilted his head, looking down at Jack in befuddlement. "What do you mean? Zeus has not flirted with me."

Jack snorted out a laugh and led the way out of the workout room. "Oh really? Let me tell you a few things about that conversation you had at the party..."

* * *

That was the way things continued for the next few months. Now that Jack had opened the door, and started the courting, all bets were off.

They were all taking it slow, of course – Jack deserved that.

They all did, as they courted each other anew, remembering now that courting and romance weren't a one-and-done ideal. Just because the vows had been said didn't mean that the romancing was at an end – if anything, it needed a reminder now and again.

If the smugly pleased looks Jack saw when he stopped by to visit with Freya and Gerd and Frigga, with Aphrodite and Cupid, were anything to go by, he wasn't the only one happy with all of the renewed little gestures of love and affection.

Jack was pretty sure it didn't make their chests bubble with joy or make them want to dance through the air like the besotted, overjoyed spirit he was, though.

But seeing Bunny come to meetings in his clothes, watching (and joining in) as Tooth danced through the air with any of them who could join her, the notes from Katherine and projects with North and stolen kisses with Nightlight...

They were never allowed to forget again, and Jack knew Katherine and Nightlight were more than willing to help him with that if they started to neglect things again. They might not have been able to keep up this level of it, but they weren't going to let it die again.

Jack managed to settled on a design for the Ice Palace and began rebuilding, stealing away time to work on it. It was important to him that he do it in secret, to surprise everyone with it once it was done even as he got help from the others. A spell from Katherine and North to keep it warm enough inside for everyone to be able to visit without melting the ice, gifts from the yeti to soften the inside with fabrics, and more.

* * *

The group of them were lounging around the viewing balcony, talking idly after a meeting that was little more than a chance for flirting, given they were between holidays and there were no emergencies or problems to keep an eye on for the moment.

The next meeting was to be held at the Warren, and from the excitement Bunny was giving off, Jack guessed that the Marriage Garden was at its peak and he was ready to reveal it to everyone.

He felt pretty blessed to have seen it early, and could hardly wait to see everyone else react to it. Jack may not have known that much about plants, given he mostly helped them ripen in the fall and then couldn't see any until spring when his part of the deal was mostly over, but even he could see that garden was a master work.

Sitting in this room was bringing back memories, memories of the first time Jack had been here, dumped out of a sack.

A thought suddenly struck Jack as he sprawled on the floor in front of the fire, his back against Bunny who was lying between him and the fireplace, and he opened an eye to squint at North, who was deep in conversation with Tooth and Sandy.

He waited until the conversation lapsed, wanting full attention for this. "Hey, North?" he called when that pause finally came. "Do you remember when you first tried to get me to join? You know, the sack, the elves, the yeti?" he added when North looked blank.

"Ah! Yes!" North said. "Was very good for having so little time to get ready!"

"You hear about this?" Jack asked Katherine and Nightlight, who had looked up from their own projects at the start of the conversation. "There I am, minding my own business, when there's this noise. I go investigate and I find Bunny and get myself shoved in a sack by yeti and thrown through a magic portal. Next thing I know, North's telling me I'm a guardian now, and there's all this music, and confetti, and I can't move but there's spinning fire in my face. I'm a winter spirit, North, why fire?"

Katherine was biting her lip, facepalming while biting back giggles. "And then, then I finally have to use a blast of cold to get them to quit it, and I'm all, "What makes you think I want to be a Guardian?" and do you know what he says? Guess, just guess what North says."

"North, you didn't," Katherine said, muffled by her hand and barely made out through giggles.

"Of course you do!" Jack said, imitating North's voice, the way he'd looked at Jack, so full of smug confidence. He laughed, dropping the act to lean back against Bunny. "I mean, honestly North. You didn't think you might need to, I dunno, ask? See if I knew what I was getting into? Tooth explained about protecting the kids but no one thought to see if I knew the rest of it?"

"Who wouldn't want to be Guardian?" North asked innocently. "Is powerful role, much respected."

The trio of Katherine, Nightlight, and Jack facepalmed, laughing, as the other three looked between them in confusion.

"Jack, I'll...I'll explain it to him later," Katherine said, still giggling. "Oh, North, I do love you."

Snickering, Jack let his head fall back, looking up through the skylight where the moon shone through on them all. "Another thing," he said, ignoring Katherine as she threw up her hands and went "Oh no" in the background.

"Another thing," Jack repeated. "You said," he pointed to the Guardians, North and Tooth in particular, "that, quote, "the moon chose you." What does that mean? Are you saying Manny chooses who you're gonna marry and you just go along with it? I mean, sure, it worked out this time, but that a little creepy. Matchmaker in the moon. Don't look at me like that Nightlight, I'm still annoyed at him for yanking me out of the lake and then never answering me when I kept begging him for answers," he added when Nightlight drew himself up at the implied insult to his former charge, hair fluffing rather impressively as he rose up. "I mean, even a hint to where I could go for answers I'd have taken over silence. Like, a little light puppet or something. Anything but indifference."

Nightlight deflated with a huff. "Sorry. I mean, I get that he's alone, and maybe – maybe – doesn't get how bad it was, but still. Anyway," Jack said, reaching out for Nightlight, who huffed again in showy irritation before leaning on Jack. "But come on, it's a little weird. It'd be one thing it it was just a team but when you're married...? You always let him choose who you're going to marry? Because I gotta tell you, that is super creepy. Wait, is he a Guardian too? Does this mean I'm gonna be married to the moon? Never even met him. Is that even possible?"

The Guardians exchanged looks, some nervous, some amused, some an odd mix of both.

"I'm not sure Manny really gets the idea of marriage," Tooth said. "He knows it's some sort of bonding that's more formal than most and that it's supposed to last, but..."

"Great, the matchmaker in the moon doesn't get what he's signing people up for," Jack said, throwing his hands into the air dramatically. "Really not much better, Tooth."

"Well it was okay until you made us think about it," Bunny grumbled.

"Oh, like you would've just gone along with it?" Jack shot back. "You weren't too thrilled about me joining at first."

"Maybe...we should just take it as suggestions from now on," Tooth said. She giggled. "Remember when North tried to ask Pitch? And he wouldn't speak to us for fifty years?"

"Wait, what‽" Jack exclaimed. "You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not keep going!"

North spread his hands. "Was idea, thought Pitch might be able to work with team. Did not take offer well."

Sandy sent up sand, elaborating, _"It's strange, it was less about us and more about how we depend on children for power,"_ he said. It was a very obscure set of sand symbols, and Jack was proud of himself all over again for being able to read it.

"But he does too, now," Jack pointed out.

" _He didn't always, its one of the ways he's changed,"_ Sandy said.

"Sometime I should write it down," Katherine mused. "I wrote down what happened back then, before we had to leave, but there's been so many changes over the centuries since then..."

"I'd wondered about how much he'd changed, he seems mellowed even since Easter, but that doesn't make sense, he should be all bitter..." Jack mused. "But with the Snow Queen, and all..."

There was a long, contemplative silence.

"I think...we need to get used to being seven before we can think about becoming eight," Katherine said.


	55. Chapter 55

Jack slipped into his den after the meeting, having spent quite a bit of it teasing the Guardians more about letting Manny choose their Spice and them taking seriously his question about meeting Manny – which Jack wasn't opposed to, he just...wasn't sure if he was ready. Or if he could come face to face with Manny and not demand answers.

Touchy subject. The Guardians still seemed to see Manny as...well, as humans looked at them. And Jack...it was confusing and conflicted. He was grateful for being pulled out of the lake and chosen to be a Guardian, for this chance to help kids, but there couldn't be something? Like a hint to go to Tooth or something? Well, she might not have been much help then but who knew.

He needed a little time alone after the meeting. Three hundred years was a long time to get used to being alone, and being around so many people was tiring now.

There were letters on his rug, as if they'd been slipped through the door.

A whole pile of them.

Frowning, Jack checked over his den. Empty and undisturbed, save for the pile of used stationary.

Cautiously, Jack picked the top one off the pile. It was addressed to him, though how it got here he didn't have a clue. He dropped the rest onto the table, before tearing the letter open, glancing over it. He got three lines in before he was rolling his eyes and groaning, dropping into a chair.

Right before the party, along with the RSVPs had come letters seeking Jack's favor. He'd gotten Bunny and North, Nightlight and Katherine and Greta and Phil to help sort through them then, the pile had been so large.

Katherine had taken copious notes of who wanted what, or who Jack said had been cruel or kind during his three hundred years, who simply was reaching out with congratulations (a very short list) and who had wanted something (ninety nine percent).

It was the pile all over again, if much smaller. Why didn't they bother anyone else, why just Jack?

He answered his own question a second later. He was the youngest, the one that they thought they knew. Katherine and Nightlight were still unknowns, and the other four intimidating.

Jack was young. Jack was friendly. Jack had been lonely. So maybe, Jack could be manipulated.

Ugh. He was going to need Katherine's notes to remember how to deal with this. What a pain, he'd wanted to go over more of his ideas for the ice palace and have a little downtime, not deal with politics.

Well, the letters could just wait until after he had a nap, at the least. They made Jack wait three hundred years, so they could wait a few days.

* * *

Jack worked on the plans for his ice palace a little after his nap and before setting out. It was important to him to get to building – he'd started, then gotten a new idea that needed a little fussing before he could add it on, and he wanted to get it down before he forgot about it.

Well, that was half the fun, and it wasn't like he was building in wood and stone that he couldn't reshape at a moment's notice.

He'd never expected to have this much fun with something like building, but eh, that was the beauty of it – finding fun where it hid.

Now that he had that written down, and had procrastinated as much as he felt like right now, he put the plans away and set off.

* * *

Jack drifted through the air, the notes stuffed into his hoodie pocket.

About two thirds of the way to his destination, he looked down and saw a snow maiden, recognizing her after he'd dipped down a bit in the air as Olwen, one of the shyest of the snow maidens that looked up to him as their big brother.

On the one hand, there'd been longer periods between seeing the girls, but on the other, Jack felt like he'd been neglecting them a little – especially given Sandy's little revelation about how the snow maidens were growing to be to him the way the yeti were to North – so he swooped down lower to talk to her.

Besides, he had to find out if they knew about the helper thing Sandy had been telling him about, and if they didn't yet they should.

As it turned out, Olwen didn't know, but wasn't bothered by the idea.

If anything, she seemed pleased by it, and promised to spread the word to the other Snow Maidens.

They were going to have to talk about it, obviously, and they'd need a little time for that. No matter how many times Jack stressed that they didn't have to do this, that they didn't owe him anything, Olwen waved him off.

"You don't understand," she tried to explain. "You've always been enough on your own, and you kept getting stronger as you figured things out. But we've never been strong. To be yours...to be attached to someone like you, who's kind and cares and is powerful...it's a good thing."

Jack wasn't convinced, and Olwen didn't know how to explain it better, so it was dropped for now. The other Snow Maidens would meet and debate, and maybe then they could explain it better.

For now, Jack was on a mission, if a lackadaisical one. So he waved to Olwen and set off again.

* * *

Katherine was back in Big Root, at Santoff Cluassen. She had rooms at the Pole, just as Jack and the other Guardians did, but like the rest of them tended to go back to her own home.

Judging by the plans spread around her, Katherine was starting to think about creating her own place much as Jack was. The plans were easily abandoned when Jack appeared at her window, and the notebooks broken out when he displayed the notes that had somehow made their way to his den.

Even if some of them were likely to make their way to the reject pile – aka the fireplace – Katherine felt it was important to make note of who sent what and what they wanted, so it wouldn't bite them later as so many things seemed to.

Sometimes Jack wondered if Katherine was the holder of about ninety nine percent of the common sense of the Guardians.

They took a break around halfway through the letters. There was a small pile that Katherine felt they should bring up to the other Guardians, another smaller one Jack thought he might answer, and the rest were being filed in the 'lol, nope' pile.

After a few minutes, Jack finally asked a question that had been bothering him. "Does it bother you when we talk about Pitch?" he asked, out of thin air. "Not about fighting him but about the rest. I mean, you had to leave on a centuries long journey because of what he did."

Katherine slowly lowered the mug of tea she'd been sipping, taking a moment to look at Jack in surprise before thinking over the question.

"It did, at first," she said, looking off into the distance as she spoke, as if she were looking into the past. "It was...a lot to get over. But he has changed. Even for an immortal, it's been a long time." She paused for a sip of tea as Jack waited, trying not to squirm. "Before it happened, I'd wondered if there was a way to help Pitch return to who he'd once been. Now I know he can't, but he's different enough that he's not the person I fought then, either. So, foolish it might be, but I keep hoping he can be better."

She took another drink of her tea, adding, "Besides, I'd speak up if I was bothered," she said. "I got over keeping it to myself a long time ago."

Jack chuckled as Katherine poured out more tea. "Did you ask Sandy?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I caught him semi flirting with Pitch a couple of times, so I think he's okay," Jack said. "At least, I think that's what he was doing. He looked really smug and Pitch was really flustered, so there's that."

Katherine giggled, and after a second, Jack joined in. Tea and notes were forgotten in favor of a giggle fit, one that kept nearly dying down, only for one of them to glance at the other and get set off again.

Considering that Jack was Fun, it took them quite a while to calm down again.

* * *

The giggles had finally tapered off, and the two were staring at the ceiling, not quite ready to test and see if the giggles would come back if they dared look at each other.

Still staring at the ceiling, Jack asked a question that had been brewing, though he hadn't realized it. "Hey, Katherine? Did you...did you know, this was a marriage, when it happened? Like, a big ceremony? Or just a quick oath taking?"

Katherine rolled over, propping herself up on an elbow, with a sinking feeling that this was more important to Jack than he was letting on, or that he himself might have realized.

"It was a long time ago," she said slowly. "I wrote it down somewhere, right after it happened. I would have to look for it, I haven't touched that book in a very long time. Mr. QWERTY can probably find it. But I remember it as being a ceremony, even if it was mostly focused on the oaths. It wasn't like a modern wedding, if that's what you mean."

"Oh," Jack said, in a very small voice.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Katherine urged.

Jack shrugged, as if trying to make it seem less important than it was. "It's nothing big, just...I wish I'd known when I took the oath, you know? It was a good thing and I wouldn't take it back, it was a great moment, I just...didn't know everything. And I wish I had a chance to do it again, but this time, knowing. You know?"

"I think I do," Katherine said, reaching out a hand to lay atop one of Jack's. "And maybe we could do something about that, when you're ready. There's very little in this world that's impossible."

* * *

A/N: Rough couple of weeks, nearly didn't get this done, so it's a short, rambly chapter this week. Working out where this is going at this moment and a few plot points that need resolved, trying to decide if I've hit the notes I wanted to hit here - and if there's going to be a sequel/sequels. We aren't done yet, I'm just looking at the possibility of an actual ending.


	56. Chapter 56

Bunny revealed his marriage gardens to the rest of the Guardians, to general joy – something Jack was pleased to find he could sense easier and easier in others as time went on.

Jack was pretty sure the others celebrated the completion of the garden in a very adult manner after he left, given the way they'd been looking at each other before he'd left.

Jack wasn't quite ready for that – didn't think he would be until he said 'yes' officially. He was still at the kissing and cuddling stage of physical affection, and happy to be there.

Given the way the others had been acting, it didn't look like he'd have to give that up once they moved on. He'd been a touch worried about that. Some people seemed to think that kisses and cuddling were a step towards sex that was left behind after that stage was hit, which was very silly to Jack's way of thinking. It was too much fun – and gave him too much peace and joy – to quit just because there were other options available.

Kissing them was an experience. Bunny didn't care to – his mouth wasn't shaped for it – but he liked nuzzling and cuddling. Tooth and Sandy couldn't seem to get enough of it, very eager to spend a long time with slow, often giggly make outs that left them all breathless.

Kissing North took time to get used to – a tiny voice kept yelling at Jack that "That's Santa Claus you filthy pervert!"

Once he got that voice to be quiet, it was really, really nice, though.

Katherine's kisses were sweet, as sweet as sitting and talking with her for hours, and kissing Nightlight left them both glittering with frost and glowing with starlight.

The meeting after Bunny revealed his gardens was held at the Tooth Palace, at Tooth's request, so she could show them all the mural Bunny had helped her to re-paint – a mural that put Jack in his proper place with the rest of them, in the spot she'd seen that seemed to have been left just for him.

Katherine brought up the letters at that meeting – Jack had just been going to prank some of them for what they'd written, without bothering anyone else with them. A little return for the manipulative, nasty things they'd managed to hide under formal, polite language.

It seemed there were a few spirits still harboring grudges or no pleased about Jack's sudden rise to prominence, and a few more who thought he'd still be unbalanced enough to be used, or even thought that being with the Guardians meant that he had to at least pretend to be too mature to retaliate.

Well, he'd had his feet under himself before he met the Guardians, and now he had an anchor to return to after a flight of fancy, so they were wrong.

And if they'd thought the Guardians would stop Jack from getting them back, they were even more wrong. Maybe they weren't going to help with the pranking itself (most of them...Nightlight was almost certain to tag along) but they had information Jack didn't that was going to make this so much more effective.

Most of them were spirits that took themselves very seriously at all times, and they all woke up to the most juvenile, ridiculous pranks over the next week. Ice down their backs, little paperclips with googly eyes taped to notes all over their homes, short sheets, tickled faces and hands full of shaving cream. Silliness, in lives that were proud of their solemnity.

There was little Jack could have done that would have angered them more, and left them with fewer ways to retaliate. It was one prank apiece, each prank something silly and light that did little more than make them look silly briefly and mildly disrupt their day. It was their overreactions that drew attention and made spirits laugh at them.

He saved the slightly nastier pranks for the ones who'd been saying such cruel things about all of them at the party and then had the nerve to send him letters asking for favors.

Seriously, how tone-deaf could they be?

* * *

Jack stood back and looked up at the Ice Palace from the courtyard.

Well, it was certainly starting to come together and look impressive from the outside. And the slides didn't make it look silly as he'd half feared, but whimsical. That was a good word, Jack decided, and much better for his Ice Palace. He didn't want something terrifying and spiky, like the usual idea of an Ice Palace, and nothing even remotely similar to the Snow Queen's former home.

Well, he'd certainly managed that. It was pretty different from the plans he'd first come up with, and at this point he could point to certain sections and say that, that right there was inspired by Katherine, or Tooth, or one of the other Guardians. The influences weren't always obvious, and there was a lot of it that was pure Jack, but it felt pretty good to be able to see those markings, those little indicators that he had people now, people that loved and cared about him.

Inside, the rooms were almost finished as well. They needed some more polishing up, but the spell Jack and North had been working on – and bonding over, using the time to flirt as much as work – was up and running, keeping the inside cool enough for Jack to be comfortable but warm enough the other Guardians could visit without worry over the Arctic cold. It actually felt more like a crisp fall day inside the castle, one of Jack's favorite times of year, when he could change the leaves and frost window and maybe have some snow to play with but kids didn't have to worry about frostbite or thin ice and could stay out to play longer.

Jack had never had many material possessions, save what he'd made or scrounged up. His den was pretty small, so there just wasn't room for a lot.

But there were boxes and crates scattered throughout the castle, housewarming gifts to make the castle a place of warmth and comfort. Mostly from the other Guardians, though the yeti and Jack's friends (but mostly the yeti) had provided quite a few things – furniture and cushions and curtains and tapestries, things they enjoyed making but didn't have the opportunity for often.

There were books waiting in the library, gifts from Katherine and North and Bunny, along with the heavy shelves to keep them on (better for books than shelves made of ice, even non-melting ice, Jack had to agree).

In the study/workroom waited supplies, from North and Bunny. The workroom was off the main building by a long hallway, just in case. North and Bunny both had been responsible for some rather spectacular explosions before, after all, and Jack had a feeling there'd be quite a few more in the future.

He was looking forward to it.

Well, that was the outside and main structure taken care of, at least. All that was left now was the unpacking of all those gifts and decorating.

That actually kind of sounded fun.

Who would have ever imagined Jack Frost having fun doing something so domestic? Jack laughed at himself as he floated inside.

He'd enjoyed being a wanderer, going where he pleased, but he'd always had a home in Burgess. He just had two now, one fancier than the other. It wasn't that much of a change.

Huh. He was going to have to think of another plan to let people get down here to visit, not everyone could use North's snowglobes.

Always something.

* * *

Jack stood back and took another look around his new bedroom.

Not half bad, in his opinion. He still was very fond of the one up in the Pole – well, maybe 'fond' wasn't the right word, too low-key of a word, but it was the one he'd used and he was going to stick to it unless a Guardian asked – but this one he'd made for his own ideas of comfort and decoration.

Thinking of which...how many Snow Maidens were there now? Did he make enough bedrooms for them all? Rani had her own little room connected to Jack's, but he'd better keep an eye on it – she was outgrowing her little lantern room up at the Pole, if she kept growing and changing she wouldn't fit in that little room much longer either, and none of them had any idea how big she was going to get.

How was she going to get down here, or the other girls?

Looked like it was time to go visit the Pole again, maybe Bunny too. Oh no, another time spent with those two.

Maybe this time they'd get something done before the flirting got too intense and Jack had to bail.

* * *

Jack was pleased with the progress they'd made, a sort of portal combination of snowglobe and tunnel magics, before things started getting flirty.

The three of them could keep their minds to a task – heck, sometimes it was hard to get them off a task that fascinated them – but once they had a prototype going, well.

Jack probed, waiting for the jealousy that Bunny and North were probably getting very, ah, affectionate with each other back at the Pole without him.

But there was just joy, that they were having fun and together again and respectful enough of his limits to keep it fairly chill until he was gone.

Still, Jack was in some ways still eighteen, and even with all the nerves he had about finally going further than the kisses they'd shared, he was looking forward to banging his Spice like a screen door in a hurricane.

Even if it was a little hard to imagine a few of them doing it – again, with the little voice yelling at him for thinking of Santa Claus like that, of sweet Katherine, of any of them really – well, the looks he'd caught them giving him said he wasn't the only one looking forward to it.

For now, Jack was going to find the Snow Maidens, and catch them up to what was happening.

* * *

As it turned out, they had just finished that meeting Olwen had told him they'd need to have, to talk about Jack and being His and what that meant.

There were more of them there than Jack had expected. Of course, he'd made rooms for them all and some to spare, but somehow it was different to see all of them in one place. Hammered home how many of them there were.

Jack wasn't sure how to feel about their decision that they were, on the whole, happy to be attached to him. He had always thought of himself as having no responsibilities, no rules, and each time he turned around he found more he'd either taken on without noticing or more that he'd accepted without realizing what they meant.

At least the other Guardians knew the Snow Maidens, some of them better than others.

Jack made his announcement after the Snegurochka had finished theirs, though he hadn't meant it as an announcement, just a little update. That the Ice Palace was almost finished, that he was making rooms there for them if any wanted to drop by, that they'd have to claim them and decorate them themselves.

That caused the group to erupt into excited chatter, and Jack settled in. Part of him wanted to escape, but, well, if he had a responsibility to these women he may as well wait around and answer their questions.

He wasn't expecting to be surrounded by several of them, headed up by Eirwen and Eirlys, but that was how his life went.

"Soooo..." Eirlys began, tapping her fingers together in excitement. "When's the wedding? Are you having a formal one, or is the oath taking enough? Oh, please say you're having a real wedding!"

"Whoa, whoa there!" Jack laughed. "I mean, we haven't talked about it, we mostly were focusing on everything else, you know?"

"Well, yes, of course," Eirwen said, twirling a lock of hair around her fingers. "You're sort of doing it backwards, but...you are having some sort of ceremony, right? So this time all of you know what it is you're agreeing to?"

Jack hummed, looking up at the sky. "We...we've only mentioned it in passing," he admitted. "But..." he paused again, a dozen thoughts chasing themselves around his head, before continuing. "I think you're right. We should. It's something we should do."

"You don't have to invite us, but we do want to see," Eirlys said teasingly.

"Oh, man," Jack groaned, a sudden thought hitting him. "Can you imagine how many spirits would be angling for an invite if we do a proper wedding? I mean, they all ignored me for three hundred years, but this would be a Guardian wedding, so of course they'll all demand invites just so they can say they were there, and ruin the whole day, and..." he flopped back into the snow with a dramatic groan.

The Snow Maidens giggled before they seemed to realize that, despite the joking way Jack had said it, he meant all of that.

"You could just...not invite them?" Eirwen suggested gently.

"It's politics," Jack said, muffled by the arm he'd thrown over his face. " 'd be like the royal wedding."

"Well in that case, it's too high profile and important to invite anyone but the people most involved," Eirwen said firmly. "Ask the other Guardians, but that's what I say. No one but Guardians and their closest, if even them."

The other Snow Maidens nodded firmly in agreement.

"Um...speaking of politics," Olwen said shyly, tapping her fingers together uncertainly. She took a deep breath as eyes turned to her and straightened her back from how she'd hunched. "Jack, um...there's a lot of Winter Spirits, you know? Well, not really a lot, but more than just us. And, well, most of them were allied to the Snow Queen or General Winter 'cuz they were so powerful, but now, well, you defeated both of them, so..."

Jack stared at her blankly. Olwen tapped her fingers faster, no longer able to look at Jack. "It's, well, they think they have to have a main Winter Spirit, but now that those two are gone, you're the most powerful Winter Spirit around. Well, there's some really powerful ones out there, but none of them are Named spirits, they're all like us – a type."

"Oh no no no no," Jack said, waving his arms. "I'm...being a Guardian is hard enough, I'm not gonna be some...some King Winter thing. Spirit of mischief, obviously haven't been doing enough of that lately. Nope."

"I don't think it'll be that different from what you already do," Eirlys began, cut off when Jack pointed at her.

"Nope. Doesn't matter. Noooo responsibilities for Jack. Got enough with you and the kids. Jack's leaving now. Spells'll be ready soon, I'll let you know soon as they're ready, bye now!" Jack said in a rush, taking off, with Eirwen's faint "You can't run forever!" ringing after him.

* * *

Katherine bit back giggles as she poured another cup of tea, exchanging looks with Tooth. The two had already been busy...and edging their way towards being "busy" – when Jack had shown up, more agitated than they had seen him in awhile.

At first they had been on edge, ready to slip into battle mode, but as Jack ranted they relaxed, finally beginning to get the scope of the issue.

It was "I need to rant and, once I'm calm, some advice" issue, not a call to arms.

Which led to now, and the two of them enjoying some tea and fruit while listening to Jack rant. And they were listening, even if it seemed like they were taking it lightly. They'd learned that lesson, and Katherine had reminded them – maybe it seems like something small to you, but it's important to me.

Jack, finally out of steam for the moment, dropped onto the cushions on the other side of the table.

Katherine poured and passed a cup of tea, which Jack stared at blankly for a moment before frosting it over, cooling it just enough that he could pound the entire cup in one go.

He started to slam the cup back down, at the last moment setting it gently down in its saucer.

"So, to sum up the last half hour," Katherine said, humor leaking into her voice, "You want to have a wedding since you didn't know what you were agreeing to the first time but don't want one since it'll turn into some sort of political event, and there's a rumor the Winter Spirits want you to replace the Snow Queen and you refuse."

Jack grumbled.

"I think you should find out just what's expected of you before you make it clear you're declining," Tooth said. Her wings fluttered and stilled as Jack looked at her incredulously. "It's just, there's a lot of spirits that would be a lot worse at it, when you think of it. And it might be mostly in name, like my own title. The Snow Queen certainly did little but sit in her castle and cause trouble."

"As for the wedding..." she picked up her tea cup, blushing. "Well...I wouldn't say no to a vow renewal of our own. With all that's happened..."

"I'd love one," Katherine said, picking up her own cup for a sip. "There has to be a way to make it so it doesn't become political...playing up how important and personal it is, for a start. This is too much of both to let a bunch of other spirits dictate how it happens."

"Are you finally asking me to marry you?" Jack asked, only partially teasing.

Katherine and Tooth exchanged a look before putting down their teacups simultaneously, each reaching out for a hand.

"Jack," Tooth started, her wings fluttering with sudden nerves, "You know the basics of being a Guardian, and now you know everything else that come with it."

"Jack, will you join us? Will you swear the oath again, knowing what it means this time? Will you marry us for real?"

Jack was beaming, tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, smiling so wide it almost looked painful. "Yes!"


	57. Chapter 57

Now that Jack had officially said yes, the courting and preparations that had been low key brewing were set into high motion.

Bunny and North were a little put out that they weren't part of the final proposal, but it had been a spur of the moment thing, and well, they could still _ask_ , Jack pointed out.

And they did. Bunny in the marriage gardens, with flowers and teasing about how Jack was already there, North at the workshop, Nightlight and Sandy in the sky, all answered with a happy yes.

Jack figured he could have asked, but, well, they wanted him to be a Guardian, so...

Besides, he was enjoying the reassurance that they wanted him, even if he didn't need it like he once had.

* * *

Jack surveyed the Great Hall.

The Ice Palace was, technically, finished. Jack was fairly sure his Palace was going to be a lot like the Workshop – the base complete, but always in the process of being changed.

Right now, Jack was considering. North had assumed the wedding would take place at the Pole, but...this hall was so large, and it would take so little to decorate it for a wedding, unlike the Pole...

With that thought in mind, Jack went over the Great Hall again. Cushioned benches lined the walls, with hangings between the tall windows, cushions and benches and hangings all courtesy of the yeti. A long runner ran down the middle of the hall – Katherine had encouraged Jack to go for formal for now, until he could convince everyone that he was serious about not being a King, and he was not looking forward to that meeting – and another hanging, this time of the Guardians symbol, hung at the end of the hall. The hangings along the side were of the individual Guardians and moments in Jack's personal history, which told Jack Katherine had been talking, but only the truth about stories the yeti had probably heard versions of before.

Jack took a moment to picture how it would look, decorated for a wedding. It let him keep his mind off of worries.

It was silly. They were basically married already, technically, he was just formalizing it, saying yes to everything this time. And he wanted the wedding, and the marriage, so why was he getting nervous over what he was going to wear and say and all the rest of it?

It was so silly.

But there it was anyway.

He should...probably talk to someone about that. Another bonus of being married, even if it was only sort-of official – he could talk to people about this now, and they wouldn't shoo him off, or dismiss him, they'd take him seriously and they cared. They wanted to know.

Plus, well, the way he wanted to decorate...he'd need Bunny's help at the least. May as well go talk to him now.

Out in the courtyard, three taps to the ground with his staff had the tunnel opening, and Jack was off.

* * *

"So, that's about it," Jack summed up, lying over one of the stone sentinels, talking as Bunny worked. His ear was tilted towards Jack, letting him know Bunny was listening even if he seemed involved in what he was doing.

" 's all the buildup," Bunny said, sitting back and tossing the weed to the side. "Don' like ta admit it, but I'm a little nervous too. Don' wanna mess up."

He looked up at Jack, adding, "It's too important, even if it's jus' a symbol this time, yanno?"

"Exactly!" Jack said, flipping over on the sentinel so he was looking at Bunny upside down. "I mean, at most we'll have the baby teeth and yeti and snow maidens there, but that's still a lot, you know?"

He made a little snowflake and played with it as he spoke. "I mean, I know the yeti saw me take the oath the first time, but..."

"Lot more spur o' the moment, lot less pressure?" Bunny filled in when Jack hesitated. "Plus not knowin' about half a what you were signin' up for."

"I mean, now that I know, I like what I signed up for," Jack said quickly.

Bunny paused to smile up at Jack. "We're gladder than we ever thought ta' have ya, Snowflake."

* * *

When the yeti put their minds to something, they were faster than Jack had expected them to be. He had thought this sort of thing took a year or more to put together, but they had menus, had thought of how to get the food down to the Ice Palace's kitchens – and Jack was going to have to come up with another name for the place, "Ice Palace" still sounded so cold and foreboding – which was something they had been planning since Jack could hardly host anything without things like food around.

They were also, Jack was finding out, terrible at hiding the fact that they had a secret. The secret itself they were able to keep just fine, despite all his prodding, but the fact that they had one? All the giggles gave them away.

At least it was a good secret, some kind of surprise – you didn't get that kind of joy from something that would upset everybody.

Or at least, that you didn't think would upset anyone. A gift or a happy surprise or a party.

* * *

Jack figured whatever it was, it was happening at the meeting, as the yeti at the Pole were more giggly than ever, and the Guardians equally, though more quietly, buzzing.

Jack sat sideways in his chair, feet over one arm and back braced against the other. "So, who's gonna be the first to tell me what's up?" he asked.

North assumed an expression of feigned innocence. "What do you mean? Nothing is 'up'."

Jack stifled a snicker. "North, you're all good at keeping secrets, but you can't hide that you've got one. Come on, spill!"

"After the meeting is finished," Tooth cut in. She smiled at North, who was waving his hands in protest. "He's right, Nicky, we're bad at keeping the fact that we have a secret a secret."

North pretended to be offended as Tooth went into her report, a brief outline of teeth collected and the children and her fairies.

None of them really had anything to report, so those reports were over quickly. They were mostly a formality, an excuse to hold meetings, anyway.

Jack had expected to talk about the wedding at this point, but he was nearly vibrating in his chair to find out what the secret was, so it was going to have to wait.

Katherine was the one to bring it up. "I hope you aren't annoyed by this," she said, making Jack's nerves ratchet up, "but you were talking about how you had nothing to wear to the wedding but what you have, and, well..."

She glanced around the table, nodding to the rest, who pulled bags or boxes out of their hiding places. "We know you love your hoodie, and we don't want you to give it up, we just...well, there's options, you know? And if you wanted these for more everyday wear, the yeti are really eager to make us all wedding outfits. As in, I think they're hoping you'll use these along with your hoodie so they get the chance."

"Well, you know I hate to disappoint the yeti," Jack said, making her giggle. "On the other hand, though..." He looked over the rest of them, grinning. "Wedding outfits?"

"I haven't gotten to be dressed up in years," Tooth giggled. "No one knows how to make things that don't hurt feathers like the yeti!"

Jack laughed along with her, carefully opening the box she passed to him and staring at the contents in surprise.

Three of Tooth's feathers gleamed back at him, each attached to a length of silver chain. Blushing faintly, Tooth lifted them out of the box and showed Jack how to clip them into his hair.

They laid against his hair, the green shading to purple as Jack moved his head, glittering brightly as jewels against the white of his hair.

North's gift took his breath away, as Jack pulled the coat out of the box. It was cut similar to North's coat, but in Jack's colors, a coat of winter blue with white trim, thick and soft and perfect for hiding in, for wrapping up himself or a child, and almost shining with the fact that it had been made by North and the yeti.

It and the feathers proudly declared Jack to be one of them, as did the paints from Bunny – a Pookan set, as he explained, for making semi-permanant tattoos, something Pooka gave to mates who could paint their bodies but didn't want tattoos, so if they wanted they could match their mate's markings – the scarf from Katherine, soft as snow and knitted by her own hands, the glowing crystal for his staff from Nightlight, so like the one that topped Nightlight's own staff, and the shirt and pants from the yeti, almost identical to his current pants but without the wear and tear that were making them threadbare and threatening to give out on him.

Sandy was the last to present his gift, holding out the box and sliding it to the center of the table.

The contents made all of them catch their breath as they stared into the box, the contents giving out shimmering light that played over their faces

They'd argued, before, they'd told Jack once, about how to signify that they were married. Different cultures used different signs, and no one seemed to fit all of them.

And now, here they were. Rings and earrings and jewelry for all of them, made of Dreamsand given solid form. Rings of Dreamsand wouldn't catch, wouldn't interfere with hands that were always fiddling with a staff and needing to keep a good grip, with hands that weren't human, that were always busy, could dissapate and reform if they were caught on something.

And each ring had a spot of light for each of them, green and purple and red and blues and darker gold, each of them unique and obvious to them who they were meant to be.

Sandy pulled them back teasingly when Jack reached into the box, finger wagging.

"After the wedding?" Jack asked, head tilted.

 _During the wedding,_ was Sandy's answer.

"Feels a lot more real, with rings," Jack mused, running his finger along the box. He grinned up at the others. "Better get ready with those outfits, 'cuz I'm not waiting to put these on," he said, holding the coat tight. "No stealing my coat!" he added, pointing at Katherine and Nightlight teasingly.

The three of them still loved curling up under North's coat, which was big enough for all three of them to curl together into a tight knot underneath, and it was the same style as this one.

"I make no promises," Katherine said loftily as Nightlight giggled.

* * *

Jack sat in the Warren, looking out over the rolling fields of flowers. It was so peaceful here...sometimes Jack was amazed all over again that he was welcomed here.

Jack curled up a little more. It was all real, he knew that, but sometimes...it still felt at times like it was a dream, and sooner or later, he'd wake up and be alone again.

He could hear Tooth and Bunny, Nightlight and Katherine over the hill. They were painting eggs, practice for next Easter and for helping Bunny. Well, they had been painting eggs, but it had dissolved into a giggle fest after awhile, with more paint ending up on them than on the eggs.

Jack was sporting a pastel rainbow at the moment, as he and Nightlight had colors show up the best on their skin and hair which made them prime targets.

It had been fun, more fun that Jack had thought, but he suddenly needed a minute alone.

Wasn't it funny, he spent so much time wishing for company and then he kept having to bail once he'd gotten it?

There was a soft sound, and Jack turned, already smiling, as Tooth landed gently next to him.

"Stand a little company?" she asked.

"I think I could handle it," he said with a smile.

They sat together for a bit, the wind ruffling hair and feathers, simply listening to the sounds of the Warren.

"You know, even now, this sometimes feels like a dream," Jack said, putting voice to his thoughts. "Like it's still sometimes hard to believe it's all real, and you want me. I know it, in my head, but sometimes..."

"You were alone a long time," Tooth said. "I can't blame you. When I first joined...well, it took me a long time to really accept that they all loved me, too. And I had memories of my parents to draw on, to know someone could love me."

"It's..." Jack hesitated. He hadn't opened up about this much, and yet, if this was to work, they all had to be open. "Sometimes, all the things they say about me, it feels true. Truer than what all of you say, or what I know. That I really am nothing but a nuisance, all I do is cold and freeze pipes, so why am I a Guardian? Everyone knows who Santa and the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny and Sandman and Mother Goose are, even if they don't celebrate your holidays or traditions. And then there's Jack Frost."

"Who sacrificed himself to save his sister, who leads children home on cold nights when they're lost in the woods, who inspires people to laugh and find joy even when everything seems lost," Tooth countered. She reached out and cupped Jack's face gently. "You're your own harshest critic, Jack."

Jack leaned his face into her hand, taking comfort in the touch. "Yeah, well, I didn't say I believed them," he said. "Just that they get riled up now and again and I start thinking it."

"You know what makes me feel better when I get down on myself like that?" Tooth asked. "Well, it did before we all focused so much on our jobs that we forgot what's really important."

"What's that?" Jack asked, flipping through the most likely answers.

Tooth leaned in, grinning. "Bunny cuddles."

Jack blinked at her for a moment before grinning to match hers. "Let's get him."

Giggling, the shot off the hill, and soon the Warren rang with giggles and shouts as the fourn of them piled on top of the Pooka.

* * *

The time continued to pass, growing nearer and nearer to the date of the wedding.

Bunny was right, Jack decided – it was the knowing, the anticipation, that had him flustered, his stomach in knots, each time he thought of it.

Because he did want this, more than he'd ever wanted anything before in his life. Enough to put up with the politics of spirits angling for an invitation even after it was made clear that it was Guardians – and – closest only, with all the danger and adventure that had come after being shoved into a sack and tossed through a portal.

But as the day crept nearer and the yeti descended on the Ice Palace, decoration in tow, it suddenly seemed much more real, irrational as that was. As if the marriage had been theoretical until Jack could see everything being set up for the wedding to actually take place.

The yeti hadn't finished the wedding attire yet, but they laid out choices in Jack's room, ideas and sketches for him to choose from.

They were secretive about what anyone else would be wearing, giggling among themselves, and Jack tried to get it out of them only for the joy it brought them to tease about what they were making and for keeping a happy secret.

Jack still wished he knew, or could let the others know, if only to get some ideas for what to pick. The yeti had too many ideas, and Jack hadn't had this many choices in clothing in his entire life.

He was saving the coat and all the rest, though. Not for special occasions, just...he has a feeling, a wish, to save them. Just until after the wedding. As if putting them on is part of the wedding, part of the marriage, and they should be saved for that.

Sure, they were married in everything but name and...certain activities...but it still felt like everything would change once Jack said the words with intent.

And he could hardly wait.


	58. Chapter 58

Nightlight found Jack in the Great Hall of the Ice Palace (new name still pending, and Katherine had the list of possible names, because of course she did).

Jack was watching the yeti as they decorated and helping when they would let him. Nightlight alighted beside him, looking out over all of the yeti below. They would need his lights later, his and Sandy's, but that was for later, and this was now.

He waited for Jack to look over at him. Jack leaned against him instead, resting his head on Nightlight's shoulder.

Nightlight flickered after a minute, a minute he couldn't help but take for himself to enjoy the moment. _I've found the Lunar Lamidary, and they have the mirror running again,_ he 'said' after that minute. _If you still want, then tonight...we could talk to Manny._

Jack jerked upright, as Nightlight had thought he would. "You...?" he said, at a loss.

Nightlight turned to look at him, shrugging. _It was more broken than we thought, and it's hidden,_ he flickered. _So people don't find it. But...you said you wanted to talk to him, and I think it's fixed. A real conversation, directly with the Man in the Moon. The Lunar Lamas have trouble denying me things, since I was his guardian for so long._

"I..." Jack said, words failing him again. He looked out over the Great Hall, fingers tracing along his staff. "I thought I'd have so much to say to him, but now that it's here...I have no idea. I almost don't want to."

 _You'll regret not taking the chance, though._

Jack took a deep breath, smirking as he looked over at Nightlight. "You ever get tired of being right all the time?"

 _It's a gift_. Nightlight smirked back before standing and offering Jack his hand. _Think you're ready?_

"Are the others coming?"

 _Only if you want them too. I told them it was working, and they thought you might want to talk to Manny privately. But they're ready to come if you want them there._

Jack took Nightlight's hand and stood, not letting go after he was up. "...hm, probably right. Let's get to this," he said.

Nightlight squeezed his hand and they were off.

* * *

The Lunar Lamadary sat on the highest peak of the Himalayas, hidden away from mortal eyes. Jack hovered above it wide-eyed as Nightlight waited patiently for Jack to take in the simple palace of opal and lapis lazuli.

"How...?" he asked, turning to look at Nightlight.

 _The Lunar Lamas don't like being disturbed,_ Nightlight explained. _They hide it. And nothing will make them rush. Communicating with Manny with their mirror...well, it's almost easier to actually make the trip to the moon itself than use it, but everything's aligned so it'll work, and they've agreed to let you use it._

"They wouldn't rather we all got in that ship you and Katherine were using and make the trip?" Jack asked, nerves and amusement twining together in his voice.

 _Seen enough of that ship for a century_. Nightlight stuck out his tongue and Jack gave in to his nervous giggles.

Nightlight waited for Jack, patient, only the way he kept fiddling with his staff showing how nervous he was. _Ready?_

"Probably not. I just hope I don't end up yelling or something, we'll get kicked out," Jack said, running a hand over his hair and dislodging ice.

 _Given everything, you might well be entitled to a bit of yelling_ , Nightlight mused. _Come on, we only have so much time where it'll work, don't want to waste good yelling time._

He swooped towards the palace below with Jack close behind.

* * *

The Lunar Lamas were shorter than Jack, and utterly serene. It made Jack want to start tossing around some happy flakes, see what might happen, but he restrained himself. They weren't going to let him use their mirror if he started causing chaos when he'd barely arrived.

But later...they'd never know what hit them, he hoped.

Under normal circumstances, they would never have done this. They required a sign, a reason, and even the first attacks of Pitch hadn't been enough to stir them to action.

But a request from Nightlight, the guardian of the Man in the Moon, whom they were all here to serve...that was different. That was sign enough to have them thinking, and when Nightlight revealed that it was Manny's wish to speak to Jack, that was finally enough, for the Lunar Lamas could deny the Man in the Moon nothing.

Nothing would hurry the Lunar Lamas, not the end of the world or impatient Winter spirits, and so they had to trail along as the Lamas led the way to the mirror, slow and serene.

It made Jack want to yell, but nerves kept him silent, though at the moment respect might have kept him from it as well.

Finally they reached the mirror's chamber, and the Lunar Lamas stepped aside, gesturing for Nightlight and Jack to go in alone.

Nightlight's hand found Jack's and they entered the room hand in hand, the door closing solemnly behind them as they stood in front of the huge, circular mirror.

There was a sound of a gong, and the surface of the mirror shimmered as if it were water and had been struck. The surface turned milky, shimmering as if made of liquid glitter, before slowly clearing.

A round, peaceful face beamed down at Nightlight and Jack, who clutched at Nightlight's hand. A single white curl rose from Manny's head, standing straight into the air as brown eyes twinkled at the two so similar spirits staring up into the mirror.

"Hello, Jack," the Man in the Moon said softly. "It's good to finally speak with you. Nightlight said you had questions, I..."

"Why?" Jack asked, quiet, but still enough to make Manny pause and tilt his head. "Why did I have to forget everything? Why couldn't you tell me anything? Even just, just 'Go to Toothiana, she can help? Why did you leave me alone?"

Jack paused, taking a deep, shaky breath, trying to force back the tears that threatened to rise. "Wasn't I good enough for even that? For...for anything? Until you could get use out of me?"

There was a stunned silence in the room, and Jack slid his staff to his elbow to scrub angrily at his eyes, refusing to let go of Nightlight's hand but also unwilling to let the unwanted tears fall.

Great job, Jack berated himself. You finally get to talk to the Man in the Moon – well, face to face, all the times you talked to the moon apparently don't count – and you snap at him and start crying.

"Jack, I...I'm sorry," Manny said, and Jack's face snapped up to stare incredulously at the mirror. Manny was twisting his hands together, looking close to tears himself. "I've been alone my whole life, I suppose I didn't realize how much harder it would be for you. But I heard you, when you talked to the moon. I couldn't answer back, but I heard you."

Nightlight squeezed Jack's hand as Jack continued to stare up at the mirror. "Then why...?"

"It took a great deal of magic to raise you from the lake," Manny said, his curl now twirling in time to the wringing of his hands. "Losing your memories was part of the price. I didn't have the energy to speak though moonbeams again for a long time, not until I stored up enough to choose you as a Guardian."

Calmer now, Jack wiped off his face one last time, taking a deep breath. "Okay, we gotta talk about that," he said, his normal humor starting to creep back into his voice. "Do you even know what a marriage is? What you're signing people up for?"

Manny blinked at Jack, slow and confused. "It's...a team? Formalizing the status of everyone as a team devoted to each other?" he said, the statement more a question.

Both Nightlight and Jack gaped up at Manny for a few moments, long enough that event he Man in the Moon began to look uncomfortable. "That's what it is, isn't it?"

Nightlight slowly lowered his face into his palm as Jack started snickering. "Well, guess that's one way to define it," he snorted. "I...hoo boy. Oh this explains so much. I don't even know where to start. How long do we have?"

Manny glanced over at something to the side of his mirror. "Ah...we're still at full power, should have a good while...why?"

Jack took a long, deep breath, letting it out with more chuckles. "This is not how I expected this conversation to go at all," he said. "I've imagined it a hundred times but I never came up with this one."

Manny still looked nonplussed, and Jack soaked in it. From what he'd been told, this was a rare look for him, and Jack was going to enjoy it. "Sit back while Jack teaches you a thing," he said. "This is gonna get awkward."

* * *

Katherine jumped with a squeak and disappeared into the next room when Nightlight and Jack dropped in through her window, leaving them with an impression of something long and ornate and very different from her usual outfit.

"You wait there!" she called through the door when they would have followed. "Just trying on something for the wedding, and no one can see yet!"

Ah, that explained it. Nightlight and Jack exchanged a look, both stifling the giggles that tried to rise at the thought of the wedding, part nerves and part excitement.

Katherine came back in, tying her hair back and in her normal clothes. "That was a close one," she laughed. "How did the meeting go?"

Nightlight and Jack exchanged another look, and she winced. "That badly? Jack, I'm so sorry."

"Not badly, just...did you know the Man in the Moon has no idea how babies are made?" Jack said, taking up a perch on Katherine's window seat. "And thinks 'marriage' is a fancy name for a formal team? A platonic team?"

Katherine's eyes went wide and her hand rose to cover her mouth, shock and surprise dissolving into giggles. "Oh no, oh Jack...that explains so much, and yet...oh don't tell me you had to give Manny the Talk."

"Today has been the most awkward day of my life," Jack said dramatically, sliding down to drape dramatically over the window seat as Katherine and Nightlight unsuccessfully attempted to hide their giggles. "And now they laugh at me!"

"Did he really have to...?" Katherine asked Nightlight, who nodded solemnly.

 _There are gaps in Manny's education none of us could have predicted,_ he said, before the solemnity was broken by another set of giggles.

"Poor Jack," Katherine said through giggles, standing up and moving to her window seat, sliding under Jack so his head was in her lap. She started stroking his hair, still giggling, his smirk not helping as he held back his own laughter. "Such a rough day."

 _I had to listen to it_ , Nightlight complained, fake pouting. _I think I'm traumatized._

That did it for Jack, who finally snorted, turning over to bury his face in Katherine's stomach as he cackled, a laugh as irresistible as the call of the ice cream truck.

* * *

The invitations were ready, and would be hand delivered to make sure they arrived to their intended recipients.

It was a short list, for all their sakes. Really, they would have done it with just the seven of them, but now that people knew they were re-doing the oaths, having a wedding...at least invitations meant most spirits who weren't invited wouldn't try and show up.

Some of them might have – it being, technically, a major social event – which was another reason for the invitations. To show it wasn't a public event like, say, a royal christening, where anyone could attend and everyone would expect an invitation. It was about the only way to prevent things like offended evil fairies from showing up and cursing someone in insult.

Jack could only be thankful for Katherine, whose knowledge of stories had her insisting on the invitations and explaining her reasoning. No Sleeping Beauty situation here, thank you, Katherine was on top of it.

She really did have most of their common sense, Jack was sure.

The Great Hall was decorated, with only the few decorations that needed to wait for the last minute – some flowers from Bunny, mostly, along with some lights from Nightlight – still to be put up.

The outfits were almost ready, each kept separate so no one would see someone's before the big day.

And all of them, Guardian and yeti and elf and mermaid and Snegurochka and Baby Teeth alike, went about their duties giggly and bubbly with expectant joy.

* * *

A/N: The Lunar Lamadary and Lunar Lamas are from the books, I didn't just make them up I swear, haha.


	59. Chapter 59

Jack paced his room in the Ice Palace, his staff twirling as he burned nervous energy.

The other Guardians were going to arrive soon, though Jack wouldn't be greeting them. They were going full out with this, which included not seeing each other until the start of the ceremony.

They weren't having an officiant, as such. Originally the Man in the Moon had done it, but he was still reeling both from the effort of speaking to Jack and from the information bomb Jack had dropped on him. If Ombric showed up on time, then he could do it, but that was a pretty big Maybe. So they'd be doing the vows themselves, rather than keeping to that tradition.

Most of Jack's anger over the time he'd been alone had disappeared when he'd learned how hard it was for Manny to speak to them, had understood the reasons for the silence and how long Manny had been alone (long enough he didn't realize other people might not be able to handle it, nearly his entire life spent alone on the moon with just the Moon Mice and robots), though he hadn't realized how much pain had been left behind from his three hundred year stint until he'd spoken with Manny, but there was just enough of both left to feel a little amusement at Manny's discomfort.

Jack pressed a hand to his stomach. He was nervous, yes, but now that the time had come it was an excited nervous, an anticipatory nervous.

He glanced over at the stand in the corner of the room, where his outfit for today was resting. It still seemed a little silly to him to have an outfit for a single event, and yet.

Given what his looked like, he was fairly sure none of them were going to be in any sort of traditional outfit, Western or not. No black suits or white dresses here, if the yeti had anything to do with it. Maybe he'd be able to use this again after all, if slightly different. It felt somehow wrong to him, now that he remembered all those times when things needed to be stretched to their limit, to have an outfit like this that was only going to be worn once.

Jack ran his hand over the fabric, finding himself wishing that his mother and little sister could have seen this. It made him chuckle, sadly. What would they have thought, their Jackson a spirit of Winter, about to marry six other equally powerful spirits? It was so out of the realms of possibility...and yet, if anyone might have been proud of him today, it would have been Mother and Mary, he thought. They might not have understood, might have been worried about the implications and morality of it, but it would have been weighed against his happiness and that would have won their support and pride.

The Guardians all knew about their families or lack thereof. North and Katherine didn't know who their parents were, as both sets had died when they'd been too young to remember. North had been raised by bandits, Katherine by Ombric and the people of Santoff Claussen. Sandy and Nightlight were created of stardust and wishes, not born. Bunny and Tooth had families, once, but they'd been killed in battles.

Jack figured he'd got it luckiest – he'd been the one to die, letting his family live long, if sadder, lives.

It was depressing to think about on his wedding day, so after that brief wish that their families could have been here to see this, Jack made himself let the thought go.

Ombric would be here, and he'd be family enough.

Or, at least, Ombric was going to try to be here. For Father Time, someone who could be any when, he had a loose grasp of when he needed to be somewhere.

There was a knock at the door, making Jack start.

"It's Eirlys!" she called through the door. "No Guardians in sight, I promise! Just snow maidens out here!"

Jack giggled as he opened the door, letting in Eirlys and several other snow maidens, who were all giggling. They filled the room with their joy, and any lingering nerves didn't stand a chance.

At least two of them had gotten to see the other Guardians already, and were in a flutter over their outfits, gigglingly refusing to give Jack any details when he played along and tried to tease some out of them.

"Bunny just got here," Eirlys told him as she ushered him behind a screen, passing base parts of his outfit behind so he could have that layer before they got into the rest. "He's the last to arrive. Said he had to stop and show someone called Sophie, and apparently you're all under obligation to visit her and someone called the 'Burgess Seven' in all your finery."

Jack laughed. "We are. I'm surprised that's all we got in scolding out of her. I wanted to invite them, but I'm not sure this place is up to hosting mortals yet. It's going to be, eventually, and they're gonna be the first to see as soon as it is. But right now...yeah, still a bit too dangerous."

There were commiserating murmurs from the snow maidens, who may not have quite understood just exactly why these mortals were so special, but understood quite clearly that they were.

Jack hesitated behind the screen. The yeti had made him two variations on this outfit, in case he changed his mind at the last minute...a good move, really, seeing as how Jack had been wearing a variation of the same outfit for the last three hundred years, and both of these were pretty different from his usual pants and hoodie combo.

He hesitated long enough that Eirlys called his name, her voice overpowered by a knock at the door.

Every head turned to the door, and Eirlys slowly, cautiously, made her way over to it, opening it the barest crack to speak to whoever was outside.

She turned, closing the door again as if the people outside would slip in through the slightest crack, given the opportunity.

"It's Puck, Loki, Cupid, Freyr, and Frigga," she said. "Um...were they invited?"

Oh. Yeah, they would. Three of them, at least.

"How rude," Loki was saying through the door as Jack poked his head around the screen, pitched to carry. "Of course we weren't, we just came anyway."

Jack rolled his eyes, gesturing for Eirlys to let them in. Loki swept into the room, still talking with the rest trailing behind. "We wouldn't be crass enough to crash the ceremony, but surely you should have expected we'd sneak in to help you get ready! It's not every day a Trickster gets themselves hitched."

"The girls were here for that," Jack said, biting back laughter. Loki sprawled across the window seat, waving a hand idly. "Besides, I sent you an invite, for you know, being there for me. Didn't you get it?"

"He avoided getting it so he could crash the preparations, while knowing you'd sent one," Puck commented dryly. "The others send their regards but want us to represent them – too much temptation if you had all of us here."

"Besides, we're here for moral support and making the appropriate noises and keeping you from getting nerves, not really helping. Where's the champagne? Shouldn't there be something celebratory in here?" Loki added.

Puck chuckled and rolled his eyes, making a little gesture, and Loki gave a cheer. "That's more like it!" he said, raising his bubbling champagne flute.

Puck stopped at the edge of the screen, holding out another flute to Jack, his own in his other hand as the snow maidens looked in surprise at the glasses that had appeared in their hands.

"How you holding up?" they asked.

"I thought I'd be nervous, but I'm happy," Jack said, taking the glass carefully. "Cupid, you come to brag?"

"Took you so long to figure it out!" Cupid moaned. "Thought I would have to do something drastic!"

"Well, it didn't come out the best anyway, so maybe you should have," Jack said, rolling his eyes as Eirlys and two other snow maidens brought the first piece of clothing to him behind the screen. "Freyr, Frigga, it's good to see you, too. Sorry about the lack of invites for everyone else, but..."

"Politics," they chorused. "It's why only the five of us came – the others are having a party," Freyr added. "And everyone's not invited to it, either."

"How huffy are the spirits that didn't get an invite?" Jack asked, hoping he didn't sound spiteful.

"It ranges, but some are quite irritated," Freyr replied, and there was just enough spite in his voice to sooth Jack's conscience. "Don't know what they expected, with the way they've behaved."

"You come as moral support, or do you have some advice?" Jack asked as Eirlys helped with laces on the back of his outfit.

"I think you've heard most of it," Freyr said gently. "Talk to each other, listen to each other, be kind and pay attention, don't stop courting just because you had a wedding."

"And don't get so caught up in our jobs that we forget," Jack added, with a laugh. "That's the tough one." He took a deep breath, smiling at Eirlys over his shoulder. "Okay, I'm coming out."

He stepped out and gave a twirl, making the skirts flare and dance as the tricksters whooped and the love spirits cooed.

The dress was made of light blue velvet, with white snowflakes tumbling across the bodice and across the skirt, snowflakes that caught the light and glittered much like Jack's own happy flakes. The sleeves were long and loose, caught close at the wrist, while the bodice laced shut at the throat. A white silken sash was looped at his waist, the long, fringed ends dangling down to his knees.

There was a cape to go with it, much like the cape Jack had used to wear, which the yeti had made after hearing Jack mourn the fact that it had worn out so long ago. Unlike the leather of his original cape, this one was of more light blue velvet, to match the dress, and Jack already loved it.

It was amazing to him how he'd gone from one outfit to several in so little time. He hadn't been quite sure about wearing the dress at first, but he wasn't really a suit person, or a formal person, and this was so pretty, in the end he couldn't resist.

There was a small wreath of a tiara to go with it, of silver in the shape of a swirl of snowflakes with sapphires set among them to catch the light, and Jack crouched so Eirlys could set it into place. She fussed until it sat just so, fluffing his hair until she liked how it looked.

She stepped back and surveyed the overall effect before nodding solemnly. Eirlys broke a second later, giggling and bouncing as she clapped in an overflow of joy.

"Everyone's so pretty today!" she giggled. Jack beamed, reaching up to touch the crown lightly.

"You don't think this is too much?" he asked. "I'm not...I don't want to be a king or replace the Snow Queen, people might get the wrong idea if they see me in a tiara."

"It's your wedding," Frigga said, breaking her approving silence. "Everyone's entitled to a tiara on their wedding, or whenever they want to wear one. It suits you. Also, you might not get much choice about being the ruler of Winter. Just treat it like being a big brother and you'll be fine."

Jack paused, and Frigga waved, as if to brush it aside. "Don't worry about it now. It's your wedding. You'll have your entire Spice to help you figure it out, after. Today is for joy and hope and dreams, memories and wonder and stories and a bit of bravery."

She reached out and brushed a faint wrinkle out of Jack's cape. "You've got this."

* * *

Downstairs, Jack paced in the waiting room, just off the Great Hall.

He'd added them in for the wedding, and had a few ideas already for what he'd do with them later. Nice thing about building in ice, it was easy to change the rooms around if you knew what you were doing.

He wasn't thinking about that now as he paced, skirt whispering as it brushed the floor on the turns and making soft rustling as he moved.

The guests they had invited were already gathering in the Great Hall, and Jack could hear the faint murmuring of their chatter.

That was making him nervous, more than the rest. Yeah, everyone they'd invited cared about him and weren't going to think less of him if he messed up, and he didn't care, really he didn't, except he sort of did, he didn't want anyone thinking he couldn't do this or to embarrass the other Guardians or to mess up the oath.

Then again, all he had to say was a variation on 'yes', so he was being silly again.

It was no different from having the kids watch them, except that that oath-taking had been impulsive and this one...it was the time spent waiting.

The other Guardians were going to gather first, to renew their vows to each other, before Jack entered. Then he'd be going in, to take the oath and receive theirs in turn.

Why did he think this was a good idea again?

Then the noise outside quieted, and the jitters turned to anticipation.

Oh, right.

Because he could hardly wait to make this official.

Strains of music sounded, muffled by the door, and Jack held his staff close, bouncing in anticipation.

Showtime.

* * *

A/N: I HATE HAVING TO THINK ABOUT/DESCRIBE CLOTHES YOU HAVE NO IDEA -_-; Sorry anyone who had ideas about what their outfits would be, I tried. It took me so long to decide what Jack would wear, debating for days over it. Ugh and now I have to do the other Guardians too...


	60. Chapter 60

Baby Tooth slipped into the room, giggling as she spun around Jack's head.

She was far too big now to be cradled in his hands, closer to the size and coloring of a blue jay now than a hummingbird. Jack suspected she was trying to stay this size, where she was still small enough to hitch rides on him but big enough to command attention.

Baby Tooth was wearing a little tiara of her own, a mix of flowers and snowflakes to tie together both Toothiana and Jack, and a little dress, soft and flowing. She gave a little twirl as Jack cooed over how adorable she was.

The other girls had dresses of their own – there was a group of yeti obsessed with everything miniature who had jumped at the chance to create a set of tiny dresses – but only Rani had a dress like this one, in purples and blues, with swirls of snowflakes and a tiny row of stylized teeth along the neckline.

Rani chirped out a question, hovering in front of Jack.

He grinned back, nodding. "Yeah, I am ready," he said. "Are they?"

Rani giggled again before spinning with joy.

Jack tilted his head, listening as the music outside changed. "There's my cue," he said, gripping his staff and taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

* * *

Normally, the amount of people looking at him would make Jack quail for a moment before puffing himself up with bravado, not quite used to the attention he craved just yet.

But today, he only had eyes for the six at the end of the Great Hall waiting for him.

The only reason he had decided to walk down the aisle was so he would have a good chance to see them and be seen in return, after all.

Tooth was wearing a sari, one that picked up the colors of her feathers and shifted colors in the light just as they did, bordered in a thick band of gold thread. A crown encircled her head, a diadem that dipped over her forehead and left her head feathers free, a grander decoration than the gemstones that sparkled along its golden band.

Bunny was in a long, green coat, one that was closed up the front. A broad sash encircled his waist, and the embroidery on the coat seemed to sparkle in the light while the thick fluff and rich velvet made Jack want to run his hands all over that coat.

North wasn't in a coat, to Jack's vague surprise, but the heavily embroidered tunic and sash more than made up for it, and even from here Jack could pick out not just Christmas symbols in the embroidery, but Bunny's markings, teeth, swirls of dreamsand and snowflakes.

Nightlight was in dress armor, softly glowing metal with a tunic over top, with the Guardian's symbol embroidered on it, dark blue material with silver edges and embroidery.

He straightened as Jack caught his eye and beamed, glowing brighter.

Sandy was glowing as brightly as Nightlight, his usual sand pajamas replaced with what Jack would swear was a regency era suit, also made of sand.

Katherine's dress was the one Jack and Nightlight had glimpsed so briefly that awkward, awkward day. Long and of dark blue velvet, full skirted and long sleeved yet with bare shoulders and a sash much like Jack's at the waist, only in silver rather than white, and with her hair loose, held back with a small tiara and veil, something short and flowing in silver, she looked to Jack's eyes like a fairytale princess.

They were all staring at Jack as if he were something out of a fairytale himself, and Jack felt a blush rising.

"Wow," he said softly, but not quite softly enough if the way the rest of them blushed and giggled, the soft chuckle that swept through the room, was anything to go by.

Whatever, they were all thinking the same thing.

Still, a slight frost covered Jack's cheeks as he made his way down the last few steps to the dais at the end of the hall where the other Guardians waited for him.

North smiled down at Jack, beaming with joy. Phil is holding the giant book of the Guardians, which was more a formality than necessary by now.

The six of them stood in a semicircle facing Jack, who leaned on his staff.

"Are you ready, now, Jack?" North asked. "To make it official. This time, knowing all that is being Guardian."

Jack chuckled. "I am," he said. "And this time, I know what I'm agreeing to."

The six Guardians linked hands, looking to Jack as they spoke.

"Jack, we ask you to walk the path ahead along with us, to stand by our sides as we will stand by yours," North began for them, beaming softly at Jack.

"Pain shared is pain halved, while Joy shared is joy doubled. There will be pain, and we would share yours, as we ask you to share ours, that we all may be stronger together, and we may share joys and multiply them between us all," Tooth said, her free hand loosely held in a fist against her heart as she watched Jack.

"We can't promise never to fight. That is foolishness, and we all know better than to believe that nothing will ever cause strife between us from this day on," Bunny said, giving Jack a speaking look. He and Jack had argued the most out of all of them, and though they'd both been trying harder, the likely hood of them not arguing again was a negative number, and they both knew it. "Will you promise to listen and to talk things out, as we will listen to and talk out our problems along with you?"

"Two minds can't think as one, two souls can't merge, two hearts can't keep the same time. Not without one becoming less than the other," Nightlight said, strange as always to hear him speak using his actual voice as he looked at Jack seriously.

"Together, we don't have to fear the storm, for we will shelter each other. We don't have to despair, for we're here to bring each other hope and wonder. We will be here to help each other remember what's important, to life our spirits with tales of times past, to help us to be brave and to find laughter in the darkest of times. To remind us to go outside when we get too caught up in our jobs," Katherine said, winking on the last line.

Sandy didn't say anything, but his signs were eloquent, asking Jack to be part of their six and make them seven, and to face the future with the rest of them together.

Down below, where no one could see, he gave a quick sign that was entirely inappropriate, winking at Jack when he blushed and bit back giggles.

"I will," Jack said when he'd recovered. "I want to walk the path with all of you, and have all of you with me, to fight with and love and play and drag outside when you get too wrapped up in your jobs."

The six original Guardians reached out to Jack, who took Nightlight and Tooth's free hands – Nightlight and Jack slid their staffs to rest against their shoulder in practiced moves to make it happen – squeezing them gently as he brought himself into the Guardians, and the seven of them recited the original oath together. "We will watch over the children of Earth. Guide them safely from the ways of harm. Keep happy their hearts, brave their souls, and rosy their cheeks. We will guard with our lives their hopes and dreams, for they are all that we have, all that we are, And all that we will ever be."

There was a hushed silence in the Great Hall. The clouds overhead parted, and a moon beam fell down through a skylight, illuminating the seven Guardians, leaving them all glowing, brighter than a simple moonbeam should have been able.

As the glow began to fade, Jack smiled up at the other Guardians. The moonlight lingered in his silver hair, on the whites and silvers and the frost already decorating his clothing and hair, almost a benediction, an apology, an offering.

Jack beamed almost as brightly as the moonbeam. "I'm a Guardian," he said.

The words were simple, even if the statement behind them was anything but. Affirmation, declaration, a statement of fact that nothing could take from Jack, a claim to the six spirits standing in front of him. That this time, he knew exactly what he was signing up for.

Now and forevermore, Jack Frost was and always had been a Guardian of Childhood. He'd just needed time for the rest.

The cheers began, yeti and elf and snow maiden and friend alike, as the seven pulled together into a hug, and none of them were able to hide the way they'd teared up.

* * *

It took the yeti less than ten minutes to re-do the Great Hall for the party.

It may have been a lot smaller than the party North had thrown, but this time there were no spirits standing in corners with petty, spiteful talk or surprises being thrown at unsuspecting Winter Spirits.

The guests were tearing it up on the dance floor, mingling about happily. Off in a corner, Cupid was flirting with three different Snegurochka, who were all giggling happily and flirting right back.

The Guardians were mingling, too, but they kept being drawn back to each other. Little touches, whispered words. Small, blushing kisses and nuzzles.

Or at least, they were small, blushing, shy kisses until Sandy caught Nightlight and Jack making out behind one of the wall hangings and settled down in midair to watch.

It was only when other people began to turn to look that they broke and stopped, blushing and laughing. Seemed they liked having Sandy watch, but they were drawing a line at Guardians and just got a bit carried away.

Hey, it was their wedding, the feeling was that spread throughout the party. Cut them some slack.

Still, any solemnity left to the party was lost at that point. The music was cranked, and shy kissed gave way to open cuddles and wandering hands that stopped short of dangerous zones and filled with love, the Guardians dancing together.

The original six would be spending the night together. Jack wasn't ready for that, and would be taking it quite a bit slower, yet didn't feel left out.

Not with all the offers to come watch, to do what felt right to him.

He just, well...after all this time alone, he didn't think he was quite ready to dive into the deep end. One at a time, first, then he'd join in.

Jack slipped away from the party when the noise began to be a bit much to stand on one of the parapets.

The moon was still shining brightly over the Arctic, setting everything aglow.

Jack looked up at the moon, laughing softly. "Took a long time, didn't it?" he said softly, leaning on the edge of the parapet. "And a lot to get here." He looked back over his shoulder, towards the party still going strong, and smiled softly. "Worth it, though."

Standing, Jack blew a kiss to the moon and the man living there before turning to go and join the party.

He was a Guardian, now and forevermore, and he had Spice to celebrate.

* * *

A/N: Have you ever had something where, on the one hand, it's been part of your life for so long you never want it to be over while on the other, you're ready to be done with it? I'm considering sequels for this, if there's enough interest/I can motivate myself (wedding nights, Pitch redemption/joining; the first would be, let's face it, smut, and only on AO3 under Lady_Phenyx, and the second more fluff).

Anyway, thank you to everyone who came along with me on this wild ride! I never expected it to take this long to write or to be this long of a story when I began it, yet here we are.


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